Tata Group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata has invested in online auto classified services provider, CarDekho.com, indicating the strength of India's rapidly growing digital consumption market.
It is Tata's fourth such investment in an e-commerce firm. Last year, the business leader had invested in marketplace major Snapdeal, furniture e-tailer Urban Ladder and online jewellery seller BlueStone.
"Mr Tata, a deeply revered man in the Indian auto sector, has for the first time ever joined hands with an auto portal by investing in personal capacity. "While the investment amount remains undisclosed, Mr Tata has agreed to advise the company as and when required," CarDekho said in a statement. This comes on the heels of the announcement of Series B funding of USD 50 million from Hong Kong-based investors.
"Such an investment by the man who has significantly shaped the Indian auto sector is a testimony to CarDekho's plans in its quest to rapidly grow in the auto classifieds sector," it said.
GirnarSoft, the parent company of CarDekho.com, is now valued at USD 300 million. It also runs other portals like BikeDekho.com and PriceDekho.com.
"Post our recent funding and investment by Mr Tata, we are another step closer to the group's vision of becoming a global company through our innovative products and services.
"With the faith and confidence shown by Mr Tata in the company, it increases our responsibility towards contributing for the overall development of the online automobile sector," GirnarSoft co-founder and CEO Amit Jain said.
He added that in addition to the marketing and hiring activities, the company is also looking at "few smaller acquisitions" to enhance business operations.
CarDekho.com has seen revenue growing three-fold since 2013 when the company received series A funding of USD 15 million from Sequoia Capital. While lead generation has been doubling year-on-year, CarDekho.com has seen a traffic growth of 45 percent over previous year.
Last year, CarDekho.com had acquired another popular automotive portal, Gaadi.com for its used car portfolio, innovation in the segment and talented workforce.
"We are currently in the agile mode of expansion and our marketing initiatives are well aligned with our fast paced growth. We are focusing on uplifting and strengthening the brand presence through various activities this year.
"We would also be looking at doubling our workforce by hiring 1,000 more people this year," GirnarSoft co-founder and COO Anurag Jain said.
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