Gaadi.com Parent GirnarSoft Raises $3.6 Mn Debt Fund From Trifecta

GirnarSoft (also known as Girnar Software), the parent company of automobile portals like CarDekho.com and Gaadi.com, has raised  $3.6 Mn (INR 25 Cr) in debt fund from Trifecta Venture Debt Fund-I, as per the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) filings accessed by Inc42.

Girnar Soft, which has its offices in Jaipur, Hyderabad, Gurugram and Mumbai was founded in 2007 by Amit Jain and Anurag Jain. Besides CarDekho.com and Gaadi.com, the company also owns BikeDekho.com, Zigwheels.com, BusesDekho.com, among others.

The company caters to various services including website designing, website development, ecommerce site building, mobile app development, internet marketing, among others. It also offers auto loans through tie-ups with banks and conducts pre-inspection of used cars listed on its platform.

In February this year, GirnarSoft entered into a partnership with Times Internet. The partnership is said to allow GirnarSoft to reach over 17 Mn in-market car buyers and 10 Mn in-market bike buyers, assisting them at every stage of their decision making.

The company went international in 2015 with the launch of CarBay.com in multiple countries in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Last year, GirnarSoft appointed Pragya Kumar as its chief people officer.

A number of investors have invested in GirnarSoft. Earlier, Hillhouse Capital, Tybourne Capital and Sequoia invested $50 Mn in GirnarSoft’s CarDekho. Prior to this, GirnarSoft has raised $2.3 Mn (INR 16 Cr) from Sequoia Capital in an internal round of financing. In 2013, Sequoia Capital invested $15 Mn in the company. Similarly, Indian industrialist Ratan Tata has also invested an undisclosed amount in the company. Later in May 2015, HDFC Bank picked up 1% stake in CarDekho.com. Also, Times Internet invested an undisclosed amount in the company in October 2015.

According to company’s earlier statement, GirnarSoft claims its CarDekho to have recorded auto sales of 21.8 Mn units in 2016-17. The company saw its revenues grow by 32% to $18.5 Mn (INR 127.7 Cr) in FY17, up from $14 Mn (INR 96.4 Cr) in FY16. But the company slightly narrowed its loss in FY17 to $19.6 Mn (INR 135 Cr) from $20.9 Mn (INR 144 Cr) in FY16. In 2016, GirnarSoft acquired three companies in the automobile segment, according to Crunchbase.

As India’s digital advertising industry is poised to touch $4 Bn (INR 25,500 Cr) by 2020, according to CII and KPMG study, with the latest funding, GirnarSoft looks ready to expand its reach among Indian consumers.