Udaan raises $340 Mn in Series E round

B2B e-commerce platform Udaan has raised $340 million in a Series E round led by M&G Plc along with participation of Lightspeed Venture Partners and DST Global.

The round is a mix of equity and convertible notes. In August, Entrackr exclusively reported that Udaan will raise fresh funding.

Udaan plans to deploy fresh proceeds towards strengthening customer experience, market penetration, strategic vendor partnerships, and to reinforce long-term capabilities of supply-chain & credit, the company said in a press statement. 

“... It enables our continued journey of growth and profitability, positioning us well to be public-market ready in the next 12-18 months,” said Udaan co-founder and CEO Vaibhav Gupta.

While the company has not disclosed the valuation, the equity component is likely to have come on a lower valuation. At its peak, Udaan was valued at around $3 billion.

Udaan scooped up $280 million in an extended Series D round in January 2021 and separately raised more than $350 million in debt and convertible notes since then.

Founded in 2016, Udaan enables supply chain and logistics operations, focused on B2B trade for daily delivery across more than 1,200 cities through udaanExpress.

It has operations across lifestyle, electronics, home & kitchen, staples, fruits & vegetables, FMCG, pharma, toys and general merchandise. It claims to have over 3 million retailers and thousands of sellers on the platform across the country.

Udaan’s gross revenue (GMV) dwindled by 43.1% to Rs 5,629 crore in FY23 from Rs 9,900 crore in FY22, according to the financial statements filed by its group company, Trustroot Internet in Singapore. Its losses also contracted 33.7% to Rs 2,076 crore in FY23 from Rs 3,132 crore in FY22.

Last year, Udaan laid off around 500 employees across two phases. However, the firm indicated that those layoffs were not a sign of financial desperation, but rather due to an efficiency enhancement drive.