US-based investment firm Tiger Global Management has led a Series E funding round of $75 million (Rs 520 crore) in UrbanClap Technologies India Pvt. Ltd, a Gurugram-based startup that operates a home services marketplace.
Existing investors Steadview Capital and Vy Capital also took part in the round, UrbanClap said in a statement.
The transaction involved a primary capital infusion by the investors and a share sale by some early institutional investors, UrbanClap said.
UrbanClap was founded in 2014 by Abhiraj Singh Bhal, Varun Khaitan and Raghav Chandra. It is an online marketplace for local services such as repair and maintenance, packers and movers, event management, health and wellness, and salon.
Last month, the company said it had raised Rs 1.5 crore from former Flipkart employee Mekin Maheshwari and Avaana Capital founder Anjali Bansal.
It had raised $50 million late last year in a Series D funding round led by Hong Kong-based hedge fund Steadview Capital and existing investor Vy Capital.
Ratan Tata-backed UrbanClap reported an increase in its operating revenue and pared its loss for the financial year 2017-18. It reported operating revenue of Rs 46.7 crore for 2017-18, up from Rs 11 crore the year prior. Its net loss shrank to Rs 56.5 crore from Rs 67 crore. In June 2017, the company raised $21 million in a Series C funding round led by Vy Capital.
In its Series B funding round, in November 2015, it secured $25 million from Bessemer Venture Partners, Accel and SAIF Partners.
UrbanClap competes with Housejoy, another heavily funded player in the home services marketplace segment, and online classifieds company Quikr.
Housejoy had last raised a bridge funding round led by existing investor Matrix Partners India in December last year. Quikr had raised venture debt from InnoVen Capital around that point in time. Quikr also counts Tiger Global and Steadview Capital among its investors.
Tiger Global, early backer of Flipkart, has revved up investments in India ever since it ended a three-year hiatus late last year.
The investment firm has been on a dealmaking spree in the country and has made over 10 deals this year.
Earlier in June, it backed Bengaluru-based financial technology startup Open, which provides collection and payout automation services for small businesses. In the same month, it led a Series A funding in OkCredit, which helps merchants keep track of payments and credit records via a mobile application.
In April, it wrote a $90 million cheque for a 26.47% stake in business-to-business agri-marketing platform Ninjacart. It also invested along with Matrix Partners India in ride-hailing firm Ola’s electric mobility arm, Ola Electric Mobility Pvt. Ltd, in March.
In a surprise announcement in March, Tiger Global said that Lee Fixel, under whom it had led the Flipkart deal, would resign. Fixel, Tiger Global’s private equity business head, joined a string of top executives leaving their investment firms to strike out on their own.
