Udaan seeks to improve its capacity to serve small & mid companies and to gain profitability.
Udaan, a home-grown business-to-business e-commerce startup, raised $280 million (roughly Rs. 2,046 crores), said Wednesday, as it aims to serve more mom-and-pop companies that are purchasing goods online as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Udaan said established investors, including Chinese tech giant Tencent, Lightspeed Investment Partners, DST Global, GGV Capital, and Altimeter Capital, engaged in the fundraising, along with new investors – Octahedron Capital and Moonstone Capital.
The Bengaluru-based company, founded in 2016, is now valued at more than $3 billion (roughly Rs. 21,920 crores), said a person familiar with the matter. Udaan’s spokesperson refused to comment on the valuation.
“COVID-19 has accelerated the already fast digital-led evolution of highly fragmented and unorganised Indian trade/ retail industry,” Udaan co-founder Amod Malviya said in a press release. “At the same time, the pandemic also exposed the peculiar nature of the Indian economy, with millions of kiranas and neighbourhood shops being the lifelines of our nation at a time of crisis. Udaan is at the forefront of this uniquely Indian eCommerce opportunity, which has emerged over the last 4 years as one of India’s largest eCommerce sites, while taking an India-first mobile-first approach to eCommerce. This funding enables us to continue our journey in eCommerce to the depth and breadth of the world, with Udaan’s unique low-cost model for central middle India.”
The business aims to use additional funds to expand the B2B e-commerce market and boost capability to service small & mid companies and achieve profitability.
