Lightspeed Venture Partners Back B2B Online Marketplace Udaan With $10 Mn Investment

B2B online marketplace Udaan has secured $10 Mn in its Series A round of funding from VC firm Lightspeed Venture Partners India and Lightspeed US.

Launched in 2016 by three former senior executives at Flipkart, Sujeet Kumar, Vaibhav Gupta, and Amod Malviya, Udaan runs a web platform connecting SMBs, manufacturers, wholesalers, traders, and retailers. It currently functions in two categories: mobile accessories and fashion products. The website and mobile application are currently in a beta testing phase.

Commenting on the investment, Bejul Somaia, Managing Director, Lightspeed India said, “It’s very rare to have an opportunity to back an experienced team of founders like Sujeet, Amod and Vaibhav, who have worked together for several years at Flipkart and we are excited to be partnering with them.”

Udaan expects to be fully operational in the next two months. As per a report by ET, the three founders have previously invested $1.5 Mn in the venture as a part of its Seed round.

India’s B2B ecommerce market potential was valued at $300 Bn in 2014, and expected to reach $700 Bn by 2020, according to an April report by the Confederation of Indian Industry and Deloitte.

Earlier last month, Mumbai-based venture capital firm Kae Capital invested an undisclosed amount in B2B marketplace We Organise The Unorganised (WOTU). Prior to that, in June 2016, Noida-based procurement marketplace for office products ProcMart, raised an undisclosed amount in its Pre Series A funding from IndiaMART.

Other major B2B players include Moglix, Bizongo, OfBusiness etc.

This development was reported by ET.