New Delhi : Tata Group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata has invested in online auto classified services provider, CarDekho.com, indicating the strength of India’s rapidly growing digital consumption market.
It is Tata’s fourth such investment in an e-commerce firm. Last year, the business leader had invested in marketplace major Snapdeal, furniture e-tailer Urban Ladder and online jewellery seller BlueStone.
“Mr Tata, a deeply revered man in the Indian auto sector, has for the first time ever joined hands with an auto portal by investing in personal capacity. “While the investment amount remains undisclosed, Mr Tata has agreed to advise the company as and when required,” CarDekho said.
This comes on the heels of the announcement of Series B funding of $50 million from Hong Kong-based investors.
GirnarSoft, the parent company of CarDekho.com, is now valued at USD 300 million. It also runs other portals like BikeDekho.com and PriceDekho.com.
GirnarSoft co-founder and CEO Amit Jain said that in addition to the marketing and hiring activities, the company is also looking at “few smaller acquisitions” to enhance business operations. CarDekho.com has seen revenue growing three-fold since 2013 when the company received series A funding of USD 15 million from Sequoia Capital. While lead generation has been doubling year-on-year, CarDekho.com has seen a traffic growth of 45 per cent over previous year.
