MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Snapdeal is looking to raise funding of at least $400 million (Rs 2,500 crore), just four months after SoftBank led an investment round that made the Japanese conglomerate the largest shareholder in the Delhi-based online marketplace.Two people aware of the negotiations said Jasper Infotech , the owner of Snapdeal, is seeking a valuation of $5 billion and has initiated talks with several investors, both financial and strategic.A US-based hedge fund is among those interested, the sources said, while clarifying that a deal is not imminent.Cofounded by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal , Snapdeal last raised money in October 2014, when SoftBank invested $627 million, valuing the company at $1.85 billion. Since then investor interest has increased in the company, including from large strategic players like Alibaba.“If Alibaba comes in, they will (invest) in tranches, with some milestones set to achieve,“ said a Bengaluru-based venture capital investor who is not connected with the latest discussions.“At the same time, investor interest in Snapdeal is very high, so the deal could go anywhere.“Snapdeal declined to comment about what it called “speculations.“The company has seen a number of shares change hands in recent weeks. Early investors like Bessemer Venture and Kalaari Capital having sold small stakes of between 2-3% each to the Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank.People privy to these deals said Snapdeal was valued at “between $2.5 billion and $2.8 billion“ in these transactions.Snapdeal is involved in a battle for top honours in India's fast-growing online retail sector with market leader Flipkart and the Jeff Bezos-led Amazon. Flipkart, valued at $11 billion, raised a total of $1.9 billion from investors last year while Amazon 's Jeff Bezos said he would invest up to $2 billion to grow Indian operations.Snapdeal is rapidly adding categories to its bouquet of products.The e-tailer will also have to compete with newly-capitalised rivals like Paytm , which is backed by Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial, and ShopClues , which raised $100 million led by Tiger Global Management in January.“Normally in other markets there will be one or two horizontals vying for the top position, but India is a unique market where (companies) have an identical category spread with high dependence on mobile and fashion,” said Ankur Bisen, a senior vice-president at retail consultancy Technopak.Snapdeal is on course to sell goods worth $3 billion by the end of the current financial year in March, according to industry estimates.Snapdeal recorded revenue of Rs 168.2 crore for the financial year ended March 2014, according to its annual filing with the Registrar of Companies. Losses widened to Rs 264.6 crore from Rs 120 crore in fiscal 2013.