Airlift Technologies was a Pakistani company offering an instant delivery service. It was founded in March 2019. All operations ceased on July 13, 2022. The company's customers use a mobile app or website to order online grocery and essentials online and to fly and insure items from their warehouse for delivery to the consumer within 30 minutes.
Airlift operates an online Grocery Store that is a fast commercial service in eight cities including Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad in Pakistan. Users can order groceries and fresh produce on the Airlift website or app and receive them within 30 minutes. In the first 12 months after launch, Airlift reduced the combined customer acquisition cost to $5 and the unit cost to $2.50.
Airlift First Unicorn Tech of Pakistan
As they prepare to become Pakistan's first unicorn tech startup, deriving most of its value from Pakistani operations, it's worth seeing how Airlift got here. Over the past three years, Airlift has been conceived, launched, built, brought to its knees by Covid-19, reinvented during the pandemic, raised a record $85 million in Series B funding, and is now reported to be valued at $1 billion -Dollar Announce and Record Second Round of Funding.
This journey has been celebrated, questioned, and scrutinized. When they raised their initial $85 million funding and declared a $275 million valuation, the market was buzzing with rumors that something was wrong. Industry sources were suspicious and rumors quickly circulated. The review could easily be the result of competitors' fears about Airlift's high profits, which could be detrimental to their business.
That's because they played the startup game well and managed to stay relevant and get the money flowing. However, certain aspects of the startup playing field in Pakistan and elsewhere mean that there are often fewer of them. More successful than it looks.
20VC's Harry Stebbings and Buckley Ventures' Josh Buckley co-led the funding round, which is by far the largest ever for a Pakistani startup. Sam Altman, past president of Y Combinator; Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter and Medium; Steve Pagliuca, Co-Chairman of Bain Capital; Jeffrey Katzenberg, former CEO of Disney and Quibi; and Taavet Hinrikus, Founder and CEO of TransferWise, also participated in the new round, bringing the startup's annual raise to $110 million. Stanley Tang, co-founder of DoorDash; Simón Borrero, founder and CEO of Rappi; Bastian Lehmann, Founder and CEO of Postmates; Quiet Capital and Industrial Capital also participated in the new round.
Reason of Bankruptcy
When the Covid-19 pandemic came to Pakistan and turned the country upside down. Airlift, Pakistan's leading startup, is closing with a move that has disrupted the burgeoning but fast-growing ecosystem in the South Asian market. The move comes after Airlift unsuccessfully attempted to set up a new round of funding, deliberations on which continued last week, according to one of the company's slides obtained by TechCrunch.
The “multiple” investors told Airlift it would take more than two months to wire the money, the startup told employees. Other investors were reluctant to take the chance of going online first.
On July 12, Airlift announced it would file for bankruptcy, blaming the “global recession and the recent downturn in capital markets.” In a statement in early July, the company said it had a “clear path forward” and was in talks to raise “Series C1 funding.” But “amid rapidly deteriorating conditions in the global economy,” several investors expressed uncertainty about their payout plans. A complete shutdown is, therefore “inevitable”. Airlift employed nearly 300 people and had more than 1,000 additional employees in its warehousing and delivery operations.
Roughly two years after the company's first turnaround, Airlift has failed to repeat history in the face of another changing economic landscape. In the past two years, a wave of new entrepreneurs has started new businesses in Pakistan, partly inspired by the success of Airlift. While the airlift collapse will reverberate through the ecosystem for the next few months, some say Pakistani startups are mature enough to weather the shock. The company that is still discovering its fundamentals and its inflated valuation and you start portraying it as the poster child that will be Pakistan's first unicorn if it fails and implodes that way, it shakes the very foundations of the ecosystem.
Everyone fears that this will negatively impact the entire Pakistani startup ecosystem, which is unfair to many startups that are currently thriving and growing without jeopardizing their business fundamentals. Failure in a startup ecosystem is not an anomaly; it’s inevitable. The more space we leave for failure, the more space we create for success.
Alternate Solution
You should definitely check out Himalayan Chef If you're looking for a great online grocery store in Pakistan that specializes in organic products, they have a huge selection of high-quality products, and they're always updating their inventory with the latest and greatest items. Plus, their prices are unbeatable!
Himalayan Chef
The Himalayan chef has kept his promise of purity to his customers for almost 25 years. Top chefs and nutritionists around the world rate our Grocery products as the best. Himalayan Chef, which has a large customer base and is also the world's largest producer and exporter of Himalayan pink salt, is committed to maintaining freshness throughout the safe food supply chain. Our manufacturing facilities, packaging facilities, and warehouses are located in nearly 27 countries and we operate in all major economies around the world.
Own Production
When it comes to online grocery stores, Himalayan Chef is the clear winner. Unlike other stores, Himalayan Chef has its own production facilities, which allows them to offer a much wider selection of organic products than its competitors. Finally, Himalayan Chef is committed to providing the best possible Fast customer service, which is why they are the preferred choice for online grocery shopping.
Fast Delivery
Since the opening of his online grocery store, the Himalayan chef has been providing fast delivery all over Pakistan. He has built up a wide customer base by providing high-quality, organic products. His online store offers a variety of products that include Basmati Rice, Pink Salt, Pulses, spices, and other Grocery items. Himalayan Chef has its own high-quality products that are available in Pakistan.
Why Himalayan Chef is the best
Himalayan Chef is better than Airlift because The Himalayan Chef has its own production and does not rely on a distributor of other companies products. This means that the Himalayan Chef can guarantee that its food is 100% natural and non-GMO. The delivery is also the fastest in Pakistan, so you'll never have to wait long for your food. Plus, the Himalayan Chef is kosher certified.
