Tata tycoon tips CarDekho with personal funding

Auto classifieds portal CarDekho today announced an investment in the startup by Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of the Tata Sons conglomerate, The Times of India reports.

The Tata brand is well known in India across a large variety of products, from cars – including the US$3,200 Tata Nano – to a US$0.30 pack of Tata Salt on supermarket shelves.

This is the first time that Ratan Tata has taken interest in an auto portal by investing his own money. The investment amount remains undisclosed. Tata will advise the company when required.

Last year, Ratan Tata invested in several Indian startups, such as ecommerce portal Snapdeal, jewellery etailer Bluestone, and online furniture retailer Urban Ladder.

CarDekho is an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of new and used vehicles in India. It was founded in March 2008 by IT company Girnar Software, which now has other similar ventures, including BikeDekho, PriceDekho, and MobileDekho.

Speeding up growth

The company will look to strengthen the brand presence and double its workforce by hiring 1,000 more people this year. Traffic to the CarDekho site grew 45 percent in the past year. It acquired another automotive portal, Gaadi in September.

This news comes quick on the heels of the announcement of CarDekho’s series B funding of US$50 million from Hong Kong-based investors, Hillhouse Capital and Tybourne Capital. The startup also raised US$30 million in October.

Indian corporate czars have recently shown an eagerness to invest in the booming online retail sector. Billionaires like Wipro chairman Azim Premji and Infosys co-founder Narayana
Murthy have taken interest in the Indian ecommerce space with investments and deals with popular portals like Snapdeal, Myntra, and Amazon.

(Source: The Times of India)

See:CarTrade bags $30 million to take on Sequoia-backed CarDekho