Cars24 Enters Unicorn Club With $200 Mn Fundraise In Series E

Gurugram-based online used car marketplace Cars24 has entered the unicorn club by raising $200 Mn in a Series E funding round led by DST Global.

Existing investors Exor Seeds, Moore Strategic Venture and Unbound also participated in the round that valued the company above $1 Bn. Cars24 will use the funding to invest aggressively in technology and product innovation and scale new business verticals.

The company had raised $100 Mn (INR 714 Cr) its Series D funding round from a batch of new and existing investors led by Unbound and Toronto-based KCK Global. Both these companies have invested $25 Mn each in the company.

The company had then announced that it would use the capital to strengthen the footprint of the company in new cities, franchise model, technology and boost its consumer lending (NBFC) business. Overall, the company has raised more than $300 Mn from nearly 21 investors.

Founded in 2015 by Vikram Chopra, Gajendra Jangid, Ruchit Agarwal and Mehul Agrawal, Cars24 claims to create an efficient and reliable way for car owners to sell their used cars at the best price. A consumer can simply book an appointment with any of the Cars24 branches, visit the branch and sell a car in a single visit.

The company has expanded its presence through the franchise model and intends to scale up its presence from 130 cities to over 300 Tier II, III and IV cities and towns by 2021. At present, it claims to have over 10,000 channel partners registered on its platform and intends to increase the network to more than 20,000 partners by next year.

The company claims to be noting an uptake during the pandemic. With annual transactions exceeding 2,00,000 units and 4x increase in website engagement, the company claims to have surpassed pre-Covid levels in the third quarter of 2020.

The company recently offered an ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) cash-out scheme worth INR 35 Cr to its employees. “The initiative has been announced keeping in mind the support and trust that the employees showcased in the company during the difficult times,” the company said.