Business-to-business unicorn Udaan has converted some debt into equity as part of its Series E funding round and pushed back its plan to go public by at least a year.
The startup, operated by Trustroot Internet Pvt Ltd, said Thursday it has raised $340 million (Rs 2,832 crore) in a round led by M&G Plc and existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and DST Global.
The round was a mix of fresh capital infusion and conversion of existing debt into equity, it said, but didn’t disclose the breakup. The firm also didn’t specify the valuation at which it raised the funding. Media reports, however, said the company’s valuation is likely to have dropped from its peak at over $3 billion to about $2 billion.
The Bengaluru-based company said it plans to use the proceeds to strengthen customer experience, deepen market penetration, develop strategic vendor partnerships, and to reinforce long-term capabilities of supply-chain and credit.
Udaan also said it is now “fully funded” and expects profitability in about 12 to 18 months’ time.
“The 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,” said Vaibhav Gupta, the co-founder and chief executive of Udaan.
The development comes after Udaan raised more than $400 million in debt last year. The company secured about $40 million in debt funding in November 2022 from EvolutionX, an early-stage financier, VCCircle reported at the time. That came after it raised about $120 million via convertible notes and debt in October 2022 and about $250 million debt in January last year.
The company had said in October last year it planned to go for a public listing in 12-18 months’ time. Thursday’s announcement means the company has deferred its listing plans.
The latest funding activity comes soon after the company rejigged its organisational team and structure, amid the departure of a few senior executives. Udaan also merged its essentials business with its discretionary business that involved general merchandise, lifestyle and electronics categories previously.
Founded in 2016 by former Flipkart employees Amod Malviya, Sujeet Kumar, and Gupta, Udaan offers a platform for traders, wholesalers, retailers, and manufacturers to come together, allowing them to find clients, suppliers, and products across categories and interact with one another directly for the lowest price.
The company’s investors also include Octahedron Capital, Moonstone Capital, GGV Capital, Altimeter Capital and Tencent. It raised $280 million in an equity funding round in January 2021 and entered the unicorn club in 2018.
