India’s e-B2B platform Udaan said on Thursday that it has raised $340 million in Series E funding round, led by M&G Pls. Existing equity investors like Lightspeed Venture Partners and DST Global participated in the round. The fund raise is subject to regulatory approvals.
The funding reportedly includes a combination of fresh equity investment as well as the conversion of existing debt (convertible notes) into equity. The startup claims that it will strengthen its balance sheet. With this exercise, Udaan’s business is fully funded, it said in a press release.
“Series E round strengthens our balance sheet and fully funds our business plan. It enables our continued journey of growth and profitability, positioning us well to be public-market ready in the next 12-18 months,” Vaibhav Gupta, co-founder and CEO, Udaan, in a statement.
It plans to use the freshly raised funds to strengthen its customer experience, market penetration, strategic vendor partnerships, and to reinforce long-term capabilities of supply-chain and credit.
Bejul Somaia, partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners, said, “We believe this financing puts the company on an extremely strong financial footing and on course to further improve profitability while empowering small businesses across Bharat.”
Founded in 2016, the platform has operations across lifestyle, electronics, home & kitchen, staples, fruits & vegetables, FMCG, pharma, toys and general merchandise. The company claims that it has over 3 million retailers and thousands of sellers on the platform, and delivers to over 1,200 cities.
It also enables financial products and services to small businesses, manufacturers, and retailers and more. Over the last 12 months, it further claims to have seen strong and steady validation of its multi-category cluster-anchored business strategy.
Over the past two years, Udaan claims to have achieved consistent progress on its sustainability agenda with eight consecutive quarters of improving profitability.
