Ping An leads $70m series D round for Indian car marketplace CarDekho

China’s Ping An Insurance announced it has led the US$70 million series D fundraise of India-based firm CarDekho through its overseas venture fund Ping An Global Voyager Fund, marking its first investment in India.

Sequoia Capital and Asia-focused private equity firm Hillhouse Capital also participated in the round.

Photo credit: Pxhere

Founded in 2008, full-stack automotive tech company CarDekho Group is the entity behind various Indian auto sites such as CarDekho.com, Gaadi.com, ZigWheels.com, BikeDekho.com, and PowerDrift.com, among others. It also recently launched an online insurance portal called InsuranceDekho.com to offer motor and health policies.

According to Global Voyager Fund managing director and chief operating officer Donald Lacey, the auto services industry is a major part of the company’s “finance + ecosystem” strategy. In China, it holds the majority of shares in Autohome, a leading online car-buying platform in the country.

With the new funds, CarDekho plans to bolster its domestic and international presence, with a goal to become the largest personal mobility services player in India, said CarDekho Group co-founder and CEO Amit Jain.

The startup also recently expanded its footprint in Southeast Asia with the acquisition of car classifieds portal Carmudi Philippines. It first entered the region back in 2016 when it launched in Indonesia under Oto.com.

Ping An is one of the largest financial services companies globally, having over 200 million retail customers and 594 million internet users. It launched the Global Voyager Fund in 2017 to invest in financial and healthcare technology, with a typical investment size of US$15 million to US$50 million.

To date, the fund has invested about US$250 million across Europe, Asia, and North America.