[Funding alert] CARS24 joins unicorn club after raising $200M in latest round

CARS24 Services, an online marketplace for used cars, became the latest startup to join India's unicorn club after raising $200 million in its latest series E fundraising round led by Russia-born billionaire Yuri Milner's DST Global, the company said on Tuesday.

Existing investors Exor Seeds, London-based global investment firm Unbound, and New York-based Moore Strategic Ventures also participated in the round.

The startup said it will use the funding to invest aggressively in tech and product innovations, as well as scale new business verticals, including its consumer lending business which it forayed into last year after receiving approvals from the RBI.

It recently also started selling second-hand two-wheelers on its platform, and has sold over 3,000 of them already.

"CARS24 has pioneered a significantly differentiated experience for the customer and dealer by deeply leveraging data and technology at each step, resulting in world-class operational efficiency and market leadership in the segment," Rahul Mehta, managing partner at DST Global said in a press statement on Tuesday.

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The Gurugram, Haryana-based startup, in October 2019, had raised $100 million in its Series D funding round at a valuation of $500 million from Unbound and Moore Strategic Ventures. It saw a 4X surge in engagement on its website during the lockdown when public transportation had been suspended, and said its annual transactions exceeded two million units - far exceeding even its pre-COVID-19 levels.

"With this investment, we will continue to innovate our product and bolster our capabilities to provide the best experience for all parties," CARS24's Co-founder and CEO Vikram Chopra said.

CARS24, which Vikram founded in 2015, along with Mehul Agrawal, Ruchit Agarwal, and Gajendra Jangid, operates in over 130 cities in India. Marquee investors such as Sequoia India, Exor Seeds, Kingsway Capital and KCK have been a part of CARS24's growth journey so far.

The startup plans to scale its presence in Tier-II, III, and IV markets in India by 2021.

DST Global, which has invested in the likes of Swiggy, Ola, and Udaan before, recently pumped in $122 million in edtech startup BYJU's.