India-based business-to-business e-commerce platform Udaan has added $280m to a series D round featuring internet group Tencent and financial services firm Citi that now stands at $865m, TechCrunch reported today.
Tencent joined Octahedron Capital, Moonstone Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, GGV Capital, Altimeter Capital and partners of DST Global to supply the extra funding at a valuation a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch was $3.1bn post-money.
Udaan operates an online marketplace where businesses can source a diverse range of goods from wholesalers, giving them access to a wider range of products through a more transparent pricing structure.
The company has 3 million retailers, small and medium-sized businesses signed up to its platform, which also supplies working capital for its users.
The round’s $585m first tranche closed in late 2019 included Citi’s strategic investment arm, Citi Ventures, as well as Tencent, Altimeter Capital, GGV Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, DST Global, Footpath Ventures and Hillhouse Capital.
Udaan had previously raised a total of $285m from Lightspeed Venture Partners and Lightspeed India, DST Global and Apoletto, the investment vehicle run by DST Global founder Yuri Milner.
Amod Malviya, co-founder of Udaan, said in a statement: “Udaan is at the forefront of this uniquely Indian e-commerce opportunity, emerging in the last four years as one of the largest e-commerce platforms in India, while taking an India-first mobile-first approach to e-commerce.
“This financing enables us to further our journey of taking e-commerce to the depth and breadth of the country, with Udaan’s unique low-cost model for core middle India.”
