Udaan gets lean on its path to profit

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Seeing your company’s valuation slashed by about US$1.3 billion must make any leader take a long, hard look in the mirror. Continuing to run it like you did before would be madness, particularly amid a funding winter.

As many firms in the tech world have in the last couple of years, Indian B2B ecommerce unicorn Udaan has also trimmed its expenditures in hopes of achieving profitability.

These efforts may be starting to pay off, as the company’s recent financial figures show. However, its stagnant revenue hints there’s more work to do. Read on for all the details.

Today we look at:

• Udaan posting flat revenue despite cutting its losses
• Amazon facing allegations of labor law violations
• Other newsy highlights such as Jack Ma visiting an Alibaba campus on a rare occasion and Rakuten eyeing a US$500 million bond sale

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Udaan tightens its belt in profit push

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Udaan believes it’s on the path to profitability after shrinking its losses significantly.

Trustroot Internet, the company’s parent firm, logged a net loss of US$199 million in the financial year ending March 2024, down 19% from the year prior. However, its revenue remained flat.

• Big goals, high price: Leveraging its network of over 3 million registered retailers, Udaan helps small manufacturers, farmers, and brands market and sell their products to businesses across India. The firm previously pushed for rapid expansion across categories. But in 2023, it launched cost-cutting measures that included streamlining operations by combining its essential and discretionary goods units.
• Layoffs work?: Udaan’s staff costs and other expenses shrank significantly in the 2024 financial year, with layoffs of 100 to 120 employees in late 2023 being a factor. The company also raised US$35.5 million in debt financing in October of this year at a US$1.8 billion valuation. The firm hit its peak valuation of US$3.1 billion in 2021.
• IPO ahead?: Udaan previously planned to go public in 2023 but pushed off this goal to 2025. The firm is considering transferring its Singapore holding firm to India ahead of such a move, similar to PhonePe, Razorpay, and Groww.

Read more: Udaan’s overhaul shrinks losses but grounds revenues

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