Pakistan's top startup Airlift is shutting down on Wednesday (13 July) after failing to raise more funding.
The startup based in Lahore made the official announcement to its employees on Tuesday that it will be permanently ceasing operations on Wednesday, according to sources, reports TechCrunch.
The decision was made after Airlift unsuccessfully attempted to put together a new financing round, deliberations of which continued as recently as last week, announced the company.
"Multiple investors told Airlift that it will take them over two months to wire the money," the startup told employees, adding that other investors were unwilling to assume the risk of wiring ahead of others.
Airlift operated a quick commerce service in eight Pakistani cities, including Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. Users could order groceries, fresh produce and other essential items, including medicines, from the Airlift website or eponymous app and have it delivered to them in 30 minutes.
Instant commerce as a category has made inroads worldwide in recent years, but they also tend to be some of the most capex heavy businesses.
The startup raised $85 million in the country's largest Series B funding round in August at a valuation of $275 million, the highest for any Pakistani startup. Harry Stebbings of 20VC and Josh Buckley of Buckley Ventures led that round. Airlift is also the most funded startup in Pakistan.
Airlift was attempting to raise a new round earlier this year via SAFE at a $500 million...
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