CarDekho 33rd unicorn this year, raises $250mn

CHENNAI: Used car dealer CarDekho on Wednesday said it has raised $250 million, including $50 million in debt, led by Leapfrog Investments in a round that valued it at $1.2 billion. This pushed CarDekho into the league of unicorns (valued at over $1 billion) — the 33rd this year from India — along with peers Droom and Cars24.
LeapFrog Investments is a global impact investor focused on financial services and healthcare access.Other new investors who participated included US-based Canyon Partners, Mirae Asset and Harbor Spring Capital. CarDekho’s existing investors Sequoia Capital India and Sunley House participated in the round too. Sequoia Capital India was one of the early investors in CarDekho, having led the series-A round in 2013 and series-C in 2018.
This is the largest ever fundraise by CarDekho and will be used to grow its used car business as well as further build its financial services. The money will also be used to strengthen CarDekho’s global footprint in markets like Indonesia and Philippines where it has recently debuted and Malaysia where it will debut soon, said co-founder and CEO Amit Jain. The company plans to go in for an IPO in 18 months, he added.

Apart from used car buying and retail as well as insurance & financing, the company is also focusing on online EV retail and has tied up with electric two-wheeler companies like Ola, Hero Electric and TVS.