Hong Kong- and Shanghai-based Ping An Global Voyager Fund announced Thursday that as its maiden investment in India it has led a USD 70 million Series D funding round in an auto technology company CarDekho, with participation from Sequoia Capital and Hillhouse Capital.
“It’s a matter of great pride for us at CarDekho that Ping An is choosing us as their first Indian investment,” Amit Jain, CEO and co-founder, CarDekho Group said in a media statement.
With the latest fundraise, the 11-year-old company that besides India has operations in Indonesia and the Philippines, said it will continue to strengthen its domestic and international businesses. The company also runs other platforms such as Gaadi.com, ZigWheels.com, BikeDekho.com, InsuranceDekho.com, and PowerDrift.com.
The company that sells both new and used cars from its online platform, recently acquired a Philippines-based six-year-old online car classified portal Carmudi to expand its service in the country. Founded by brothers Amit and Anurag Jain, the company operates over 50 physical stores in 15 cities where users can go and sell their old four-wheeler.
“As a leading full stack auto-tech company in India, we at CarDekho are committed to help consumers throughout their car buying journey. Our unique auto ecosystem provides us a competitive edge in reaching out to consumers and engage with them through our various transaction models at one platform,” Jain said.
Before this round of investment, the company had raised USD 110 million in January this year from Sequoia Capital, Hillhouse Capital, CapitalG, and Axis Bank.
Ping An has been investing heavily in technology and building five ecosystems covering financial services, health care, auto services, real estate services, and smart city services. In China, it owns the majority shares in Autohome, the Chinese largest automobile portal.
“Auto services are a core component of Ping An’s ‘finance + ecosystem’ strategy, reflected in our majority shareholding in Autohome in China. We have been extremely impressed with the business CarDekho has built in India, particularly its success in developing different types of financial services offerings to address car buyers’ needs,” said Donald Lacey, managing director and COO of Ping An Global Voyager Fund.
CarDekho competes with companies such as CarWale, CarTrade, Cars24, and Droom technology.
