Aiming to enter top 100 cities in India by the end of this year or early next year, online home services provider Urban Company on Wednesday said it has secured $255 million (over Rs 1,868 crore) in its Series F funding, taking its valuation to $2.1 billion. Urban Company (formerly UrbanClap), which served over 25 lakh households in India in the pandemic year, told IANS that by July, the firm will be back to its March (pre-second Covid wave) growth levels, even aiming to double its growth from the pre-pandemic times.
"After a pandemic-hit 2020, we recovered very quickly once the lockdowns were eased. By March this year, we had seen significant growth as businesses were allowed to operate in several categories," said Varun Khaitan, Co-founder of Urban Company. "This time, we wish to be back to March levels by July with the situation normalising in urban centres amid the second Covid wave, even aiming to double our growth from the pre-pandemic times," Khaitan told IANS.
The Gurugram-based online home services marketplace, with a global footprint and leadership position across service categories such as beauty and wellness and home repairs and maintenance, raised fresh funds from Prosus Ventures, Dragoneer and Wellington Management, with participation from Vy Capital, Tiger Global and Steadview. The latest round includes a primary capital infusion of $188 million and a secondary sale of approximately $67 million by select angels and early investors.
The company said it will utilise the new investment towards innovation, training, product development, enhanced quality control and safety measures for both partners and consumers. "With this funding, we plan to rapidly scale our business while continuing to invest further in the safety of our consumers and service partners, training of partners and product development," said Urban Company CEO and Co-Founder, Abhiraj Singh Bhal.
Urban Company has more than 35,000 service partners across 35 cities in India, the UAE, Singapore, Australia and Saudi Arabia. "Urban Company is disrupting a large, fragmented industry that has seen low digital adoption until now. It has been able to achieve the very difficult task of productising services," said Ashutosh Sharma, Head of Investment for India, Prosus Ventures.
Founded in 2014, the company said it will continue to penetrate into existing markets while venturing into new overseas geographies this year. "Technology is making our lives better, changing industries after industries, and delivering enhanced consumer experience is at the forefront. To offer reliable and affordable services at home, we are working closely with our service partners, transforming them into micro-service entrepreneurs," Khaitan told IANS.