Over the last twelve months, the online platform for used vehicles has mopped up over a billion dollars in funding and has tripled its valuation
Gajendra Jangid, co-founder of Cars24
Image: Amit Verma
Within three months of raising $450 million (Rs3,439 crore) in September, Cars24 has mopped up a meaty $400 million (Rs3,057 crore) in its Series G round of funding, which had a mix of equity and debt. While $300 million in equity was led by Alpha Wave Global (formerly Falcon Edge Capital) and saw participation from existing investors, $100 million in debt came from diversified financial institutions across India, Australia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The latest funding pushed the valuation of the online used vehicles platform to $3.3 billion from $1.84 billion.
Last December, Cars24 raised $200 million (Rs 1,528 crore) and entered the $1 billion-valuation club. In twelve months since then, the unicorn has mopped up over a $1 billion in funding and has tripled its valuation.
Gajendra Jangid, co-founder of Cars24, reckons that back-to-back funding reflects the aggressive intent and ambition of the company to scale its global operations. “Our ambition is to become a global leader in the used car industry,” says Jangid, who is also the chief marketing officer. The company recently forayed into Thailand and has been beefing up its international presence since it first opened its global account in the UAE in July last year. “Global operations account for 20 percent of our revenue,” he says.
Backers are delighted with the report card of the unicorn. “We are excited to back them again as they continue to cement their leadership positions across India, UAE, Australia and other international markets,” says Navroz D Udwadia, co-founder and partner at Alpha Wave, which also led the last round of funding in September. The investment, he underlines, will help Cars24 to fortify its moats even further and scale 10x over the next few years.