CarDekho, a car search platform, has announced a $250 million round of funding that included $200 millon Series E equity and $50 millon debt in its pre IPO round.
With the latest fundraising, CarDekho joins the unicorn club with a valuation of $1.2 billon and becomes the first unicorn based in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
It is the largest-ever fundraise by CarDekho and the proceeds will be used to accelerate CarDekho’s growth in the Used Car transactions, Financial services and insurance businesses, build robust product and technology functions, increase brand awareness, and expand into new markets.
CarDekho currently buys cars from customers in more than 100 markets and has a catalogue of 3,000+ certified pre-owned cars for online purchase.
The company will be expanding its Used Car retail transactions business geographically and is set to increase its catalogue to 10,000 cars in the near future.
The company plans to expand across India with retail hubs that will focus on both used car buying and certified pre-owned car retail transactions with customers.
Currently present in India, Indonesia and Philippines, CarDekho team aims to use the funds to expand internationally. The company’s auto and non-auto products are currently used in more than 30 countries globally.
Amit Jain, Co-founder and CEO CarDekho said, “The new fundraise will help us expand our Used Car transactions and Financial services businesses.”
The funding round was led by LeapFrog Investments, a global impact investor focused on financial services and healthcare access.
As CarDekho Group continues to scale, LeapFrog will support the company’s plans to deliver quality and affordable vehicles, insurance, and finance to millions of new emerging consumers. Improved mobility remains a proven driver of access to healthcare, education, and employment opportunities.
Other new investors who participated included US based Canyon Partners, Mirae Asset and Harbor Spring Capital. CarDekho’s existing investors Sequoia Capital India and Sunley House invested further, reaffirming their confidence in the company. Sequoia Capital India was one of the early investors in CarDekho having led the Series A round in 2013 and Series C round in 2018.
CarDekho’s digital platforms, ‘New Auto’, and its financial services businesses are already profitable and its insurance business, InsuranceDekho.com, has crossed the breakeven point. With the new investment, CarDekho moves closer to its vision of making car buying, selling, and owing an enjoyable, transparent and affordable experience for its customers, it said in a press release.
Stewart Langdon, Partner and Co-Head of South Asian Investments, LeapFrog Investments, said, “Improving access to mobility in this way will help to drive development in other key areas, such as healthcare and education.”
Shailesh Lakhani, Managing Director, Sequoia India said, “Amit, Anurag, and the team at Cardekho have built a business that has far exceeded our initial expectations. Several of their business units hold leadership positions, and are now building further expertise in the used cars and financial services space where they are strongly positioned.”
Abhinav Sharman, Director, Sunley House Capital said, “We are confident that this new investment will enable Cardekho to accelerate its growth in the auto retail market while capitalizing on the sizeable addressable market in auto insurance.”
Numis and Credit Suisse acted as the financial advisors to CarDekho.
