Udaan Valuation Takes a Nearly 50% Dip to $1.8 Billion in a Down Round

According to a report from ET, Udaan, the Bengaluru-based business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce unicorn, has experienced a significant downturn in its valuation, dropping by nearly 50% to approximately $1.8 billion in what is termed a down round.

 

In January 2021, following a funding round, Udaan‘s valuation stood at $3.2 billion. A down round occurs when a company secures funding at a lower valuation than its previous round.

 

In December of the previous year, Udaan successfully raised $340 million in its Series E funding round, led by UK-based savings and investment firm M&G Prudential, with participation from existing investors such as Lightspeed Venture Partners and DST Global. This funding round comprised new equity investment and converting existing debt (convertible notes) into equity.

 

Udaan, founded by Vaibhav Gupta, Sujeet Kumar, and Amod Malviya, specializes in facilitating supply chain and logistics operations for B2B trade. The platform boasts daily delivery services in over 1,000 cities and 12,500 pin codes through udaanExpress, with prominent backers including Lightspeed, Microsoft, and Tencent.

 

Despite the recent funding success, Udaan reportedly terminated approximately 120 employees within a week after securing $340 million in its Series E funding. A spokesperson noted that the company was making strides toward building a profitable business and had implemented changes to its proven business model. However, these interventions resulted in some job redundancies.

 

According to reports, Udaan’s CEO, Vaibhav Gupta, has stressed a quarterly focus on cost reduction, with the team actively working towards aligning with this directive. The company is said to have established specific operational targets and communicated its aim to achieve operating profitability within the next two quarters to investors.

 

Udaan is not alone in facing a devaluation trend among unicorns. Notably, US-based asset manager BlackRock recently reduced the valuation of edtech major BYJU’S by 95%, from $22 billion to $1 billion.