Cars24, the online marketplace for used vehicles in India has secured $450 million in a fresh funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund II, DST Global, Falcon Edge. The funding round also saw participation from Tencent and the existing investors Moore Strategic Ventures and Exor Seeds.
The new funding round was a mix of $110 million as debt component and $340 million as equity. The debt component has come from a mix of financial institutions. Post this funding round the valuation of the startup has increased to $1.84 billion, which is almost twice the previous valuation.
According to Vikram Chopra, Co-founder and CEO of Cars24 “Traditionally, car selling or buying have been a tiresome process, and only 2 out of 100 people own cars in India. However, over the last six years, we have been working continuously towards fulfilling the dreams of many Indians to own a car by transforming the customer’s journey-‘the Cars24 way’ that is hassle free, safe and transparent.”
This is one of the largest funding round that the startup has ever experienced. The company plans to use this fresh funding to expand its presence in the global market and to build further its cars, bikes, and financing business in the country. Cars24 will continue to invest in technology to enhance customer experience.
The fresh funding has come after the company’s expansion in Australian and UAE markets. Cars24 has already sold over 1000 cars in UAE since its launch in April 2021 in the country.
About Cars24
The unicorn startup was founded by Mehul Agarwal, Ruchit Agarwal, Gajendra Jangid, and Vikram Chopra in 2015.
Cars24 is one of India’s largest used-vehicles sales marketplace that aims to revolutionize the way used cars are sold by creating a reliable and efficient way for vehicle owners to sell their used vehicles at a reasonable price. The startup uses an AI-enabled pricing algorithm that displays the accurate market price as well as the appraisal price of the vehicle. The users can also book an appointment for their vehicle inspection on the Cars24 platform.
Cars24 has over 13 million per month traffic and has recorded more than 400,000 transactions to date. The company has also obtained NBFC (non-banking financial company) license and is now offering consumer lending with Cars24 Financial Services and BIKES24, for the two-wheeler segment.
The startup had previously secured $200 million in Series E round that was announced in November 2020 which was led by DST Global that elevated the startup to the unicorn category.
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