Urban Company is India's 12th unicorn of 2021 after a $188-million funding round

Home services firm Urban Company has been valued at $2 billion, more than double from late 2018, after raising a $188-million round led by Prosus Ventures (Naspers), as per regulatory filings accessed via Tofler.

The deal makes Urban Company India’s latest unicorn—private firms valued at a billion dollars or more—and the 12th of 2021. India created 11 unicorns in all of 2020.

Two new investors DF International and Wellington Management also participated in the round along with existing investors such as Steadview Capital, Vy Capital and Tiger Global Management.

The Gurugram-based Urban Company is among a slew of internet startups to benefit from the COVID-19 pandemic, as people used its app-based services for haircut, massages, house-cleaning, electronics repair and pest control. 

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Founded in 2014 by Abhiraj Bahl, Raghav Chandra and Varun Khaitan, UrbanClap, as it was called earlier, was among a string of startups offering app-based home services. However, it seems to be the only company that has thrived. Urban Company earns a commission based on the transactions on its platform.

It is present in about 30 cities in India as well as in Riyadh, Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

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Its early investors include Accel, Elevation Capital (earlier SAIF Partners) and Bessemer Venture Partners. It last raised $75 million in August 2019, prior to which it raised $50 million from Steadview and Vy Capital and was valued at $950 million in November 2018.

The other unicorns from India this year so far include Digit Insurance, Five Star Finance, Cred, Meesho, Innovaccer, Chargebee, PharmEasy, Gupshup, ShareChat, Groww and Infra.market.