CarDekho Raises $110M in Series C from Sequoia India, Hillhouse, CapitalG and Axis Bank

CarDekho, pioneer in digitizing the auto ecosystem in India, has raised $110 million in a Series C funding, with investments from Sequoia India, Hillhouse, CapitalG (Alphabet growth investment arm) and Axis Bank. These funds will be used to enhance focus on the used-car segment of the market and build a strong foundation in transaction services, including insurance and financing. This funding is in addition to the $75 million raised in its previous rounds.
CarDekho is a leader in digitizing the auto ecosystem in India, working directly with more than eight car and motorcycle manufacturers, and accounting for 15-30% of their combined annual sales. CarDekho also works actively with 5,000 dealerships across India influencing more than 42% of the retails happening through their counters. In addition, it works in collaboration with more than 10 financial institutions across the country to facilitate used car financing and provide a seamless experience for both buyers and sellers.
“80% of all people buying a car in India are researching on one of our websites. Our contribution to a person buying a new car has grown manifold and this will continue to be a bulwark for us. Our Used Cars engine has scaled up tremendously and has also enabled us to incubate allied businesses like Insurance and Finance business as they are one of the largest opportunities ahead of us. The opportunity lies in extending formal credit and insurance coverage to the new-to-formal economy population and will continue to be a focus area for us”, said Mr. Amit Jain, CEO and Co- Founder, CarDekho.
“Since Sequoia India’s initial investment, Cardekho has been executing well, and today has many exiting business lines contributing to their growth,” said Shailesh Lakhani, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital India Advisors. “Sequoia India remains a strong believer in the team led by Amit – and look forward to deepening the partnership going forward.”
“We are pleased to expand our partnership with CarDekho, the clear leader in revolutionizing the Indian car market,” said David Rhee, partner at Hillhouse Capital. “We look forward to continuing to work with CarDekho’s management team as they leverage their deep knowledge of the sector to better serve India’s growing automotive market.”
“We have been impressed with Amit and the Cardekho team’s ability to maintain market leadership in the auto space and run a capital efficient business,” said Kaushik Anand, Head of India investments at CapitalG. “We are excited for their continued growth and are thrilled to support them in their long term journey.”
The RainMaker Group acted as the sole financial advisor to CarDekho for the transaction.
CarDekho is the flagship site of GirnarSoft, and along with its other group sites like ZigWheels, Gaadi, PowerDrift and BikdeDekho, is India’s leading digital automotive solutions provider digitizing the Indian auto ecosystem. With more than 73 million in monthly traffic, 39 million monthly unique visitors, 1.9 million YouTube subscribers and more than 6 million mobile app downloads, GirnarSoft group has become the largest consumer facing auto tech company in the country.
The company also has a presence in international markets under the brand names of ZigWheels and OTO, covering diverse countries such as Malaysia, Philippines, and Indonesia. OTO.com is the number one auto site in Indonesia.