Ratan Tata-Backed UrbanClap’s Valuation Doubles After $50 Million Fundraise
UrbanClap raised $50 million in a fresh round of funding led by Steadview Capital and existing investor Vy Capital as the home services startup plans to expand business.
Angel investors and employees will also sell shares and ESOPs worth $4 million in the latest round, the company said in a statement on Friday.
The investment values the company at about $480 million, more than double the valuation when it raised $21 million last year, a person privy to the development told BloombergQuint requesting anonymity.
UrbanClap said it will use the funds to accelerate addition of customers and service partners, build product and technology teams, improve training capabilities and enhance its supply-chain. It also plans to expand to tier-2 cities starting with Chandigarh.
Founded in 2014, the Bengaluru-based startup which counts Ratan Tata, Saif Partners, Accel Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal among investors, helps customers order services like beauty and massage, appliance repair, plumbing, carpentry, cleaning, painting, among others.
About 15,000 service professionals earn work with UrbanClap. “We have a mission to create more than 1 million micro-entrepreneurs for India and other emerging markets,” Raghav Chandra, co-founder of UrbanClap, said in the statement.
UrbanClap, which competes with Housejoy and Quikr, saw its losses narrow to Rs 56.4 crore in the financial year ended March 2018 from Rs 67 crore a year earlier. Revenue from operations grew more than four times to nearly Rs 46.6 crore in FY18 from Rs11 crore in FY17.
This story has been updated to correct the revenue earned by the company in FY18.
-
High US Salaries, No Green Card Certainty: The Financial Calculation Facing Indian H-1B Families
The suspension of PERM processing at eight technology employers does not cancel existing H-1B visas. What it does is force a question many Indian families have been avoiding: is the US salary worth tying your career and family plans to one employer?
-
Swiggy vs Eternal: Food Delivery's Two Rivals Are No Longer In The Same Race
Eternal is building a private AI assistant, dark.ai. Swiggy is still working out how to make Instamart pay, with an operating loss of Rs 895 crore in the July-September quarter while Blinkit stayed profitable.
-
Where You Live Shapes How You Get To Work | The Reason Why
Two-wheelers are the most popular way to get to work in India, accounting for nearly 43% of workplace commutes.
-
Unhedged Position: Can India See An Indonesia-Style Time Correction?
The Nifty is trading below levels it first clocked in 2024. Is there, then, as I have suggested in the headline, potential that the current time correction drags on painfully for the next three-five, even ten years?
-
Navigating Friction And Energy Realities: An Analysis Of Marco Rubio's October Visit To India
Occurring at a critical juncture marked by stalled trade negotiations and escalating geopolitical pressures over global energy supplies, the visit offers a profound window into modern US-India relations.
-
India Exports Capital. Why Not Export Trusteeship?
The big question, then, is whether India can build an institution that global borrowers, investors, banks, and lawyers can trust, even without an Indian connection.
-
France's Economy & Politics Are In Crisis | The Reason Why
Let's look at how the French economy and politics evolved under Nicolas Sarkozy, Franois Hollande and Emmanuel Macron.
-
You May Inherit The Business. You Must Earn Its Credibility.
Succession tests the founder's ability to share authority as much as it tests the next generation's readiness to assume it.
-
Signing Deals Is One Thing; Making Them Work Is Another | The Week In Whys
Sometimes, things don't turn out as planned. Indian companies have lost some bids to rivals, some projects won't produce until 2030.
-
FOMC Wall, PERM Suspension, Hospital Stocks | Talking Points This Week
A PERM suspension would directly affect green-card sponsorship rather than H-1B visas, so the near-term earnings impact could remain relatively limited. The key question is whether this marks a new phase in US scrutiny of Indian IT.
