Tiger Global is leading a $150-million (Rs 950 crore approximately) financing round in online classifieds major Quikr, valuing it at a billion dollars post the investment, people familiar with the development told TOI. Quikr will join the fast-expanding list of privately held domestic tech unicorns, companies valued at over $1 billion, as an unprecedented amount of investor money flows into the Indian consumer internet sector. Others in this exclusive club include the likes of e-commerce biggie Flipkart, Snapdeal, taxi aggregator Ola (post its new round), data cruncher Mu Sigma and mobile ad network InMobi.
The new round will likely be Tiger's largest investment ($110 million overall) in a domestic internet startup after Flipkart, in which it has pumped in over $700 million. Hong Kong-based Steadview Capital is expected to be the new investor boarding Quikr even as the six-year-old company holds talks with other potential investors like Silicon Valley venture fund Accel US, sources said.
Existing investors, Swedish private equity fund Kinnevik and eBay, will participate in Quikr's sixth institutional round of funding, sources said.
When contacted, Quikr CEO Pranay Chulet declined to comment on the story. Emails sent to Tiger Global and Steadview Capital remained unanswered till the time of going to press.
Quikr had raised $60 million in September last year, led by Tiger Global, at a valuation of $400 million. The New York-based investment fund has funnelled more than a billion dollars across two dozen consumer tech ventures, out of which three (Flipkart, Ola, Quikr) have been accorded the unicorn status.
The funds raised by the classifieds major will be invested behind its mobile platform, which already makes up for 70% of overall transactions, and acquisitions. Quikr has been strengthening its verticals like home, cars, jobs, services and real estate at a time when vertical classifieds players have raised millions of dollars and are doubling down in the market. It plans to have separate heads of businesses for each of the verticals going forward, as reported by TOI earlier.
The Mumbai-based company, which recently moved its headquarters to Bengaluru, has launched a slew of new products, including Quikr Nxt, a messaging service between buyers and sellers, and is facilitating deliveries in select cities. It is also looking to push new product commerce on the back of smaller merchants listing their goods (in categories like mobiles phones) on the site.
The new round will likely be Tiger's largest investment ($110 million overall) in a domestic internet startup after Flipkart, in which it has pumped in over $700 million. Hong Kong-based Steadview Capital is expected to be the new investor boarding Quikr even as the six-year-old company holds talks with other potential investors like Silicon Valley venture fund Accel US, sources said.
Existing investors, Swedish private equity fund Kinnevik and eBay, will participate in Quikr's sixth institutional round of funding, sources said.
When contacted, Quikr CEO Pranay Chulet declined to comment on the story. Emails sent to Tiger Global and Steadview Capital remained unanswered till the time of going to press.
Quikr had raised $60 million in September last year, led by Tiger Global, at a valuation of $400 million. The New York-based investment fund has funnelled more than a billion dollars across two dozen consumer tech ventures, out of which three (Flipkart, Ola, Quikr) have been accorded the unicorn status.
The funds raised by the classifieds major will be invested behind its mobile platform, which already makes up for 70% of overall transactions, and acquisitions. Quikr has been strengthening its verticals like home, cars, jobs, services and real estate at a time when vertical classifieds players have raised millions of dollars and are doubling down in the market. It plans to have separate heads of businesses for each of the verticals going forward, as reported by TOI earlier.
The Mumbai-based company, which recently moved its headquarters to Bengaluru, has launched a slew of new products, including Quikr Nxt, a messaging service between buyers and sellers, and is facilitating deliveries in select cities. It is also looking to push new product commerce on the back of smaller merchants listing their goods (in categories like mobiles phones) on the site.
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