CarDekho, an India-based online automotive marketplace backed by diversified conglomerate Alphabet, is looking to raise $30m to $40m in a series C round led by internet company Tencent, the Economic Times reported today.
The company is also talking to China-based investors and US-based venture capital funds to back the round. CarDekho has confirmed it is currently in discussions with potential backers, though it did not offer additional details.
Founded in 2008, CarDekho is a subsidiary of e-commerce company Girnar Software that operates a marketplace for car owners to sell their vehicles to others. The platform also offers add-on services such as price comparisons, reviews and contact details of dealerships.
CarDekho also offers financing and insurance options, processing about $35m in loans annually and selling 2,500 insurance policies. In April, Girnar Software also secured a licence from the Indian regulator to establish a separate vertical called Girnar Insurance Brokers.
CapitalG, the growth equity arm of Alphabet, led a $15m funding round in February 2016 alongside existing shareholders including Hillhouse Capital.
Financial services firm HDFC Bank invested an undisclosed amount in May 2015 as part of a partnership agreement that lets CarDekho’s users apply for car financing through the bank.
Hillhouse, hedge fund Tybourne Capital, VC firm Sequoia Capital and Ratan Tata, former chairman of industrial conglomerate Tata, supplied $50m in series B capital in January 2015 at a $300m valuation, after Sequoia had invested $15m in a 2013 series A round.