Udaan raises Rs 300 Cr debt from Lighthouse Canton and others

B2B e-commerce platform Udaan has raised nearly Rs 300 crore (over $35 million) in debt funding from Lighthouse Canton, Stride Ventures, InnoVen Capital, and Trifecta Capital. This is the first debt round for the Bengaluru-based company in the past year. 

The new funds are intended to strengthen Udaan’s balance sheet and support its mission of empowering small businesses across India, the company said in a press release.

In December 2023, the firm raised a $340 million Series E round led by M&G Plc, with participation from existing equity investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and DST Global. Although this round provided a financial boost to Udaan, its valuation dropped by 59.3%, settling at $1.3 billion, down from a peak valuation of $3.2 billion. 

According to Udaan, the company is on track to achieve profitability, reporting a 60% increase in revenue and more than a 50% rise in daily transacting buyers in 2024. Udaan also claimed a 30% reduction in absolute EBITDA burn in the current calendar year.

The eight-year-old company operates a marketplace across several categories, including lifestyle, electronics, home and kitchen, staples, fruits and vegetables, FMCG, pharma, toys, and general merchandise. It claims to have a network of over 3 million retailers across 900 cities.

Udaan has been actively cutting costs over the past year, as evidenced by layoffs. In December 2023, the company let go of more than 100 employees.

While Udaan has yet to disclose its FY24 numbers, its gross revenue (GMV) dropped by 43.1% to Rs 5,629 crore in FY23, down from Rs 9,900 crore in FY22. However, its losses also narrowed by 33.7%, from Rs 3,132 crore in FY22 to Rs 2,076 crore in FY23.