CarDekho

CarDekho was founded by Amit Jain and Anurag Jain and launched by Girnar Software in March 2008; its founding team were graduates of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), and the company is headquartered in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Girnar Software was originally an IT company working on offshore products and outsourced software development.⁠[1][2][3][4][2]

Sequoia Capital India was one of CarDekho’s early investors and led its Series A round in 2013.⁠[5]

CarDekho made used cars a priority: its network of used-car dealers grew from 565 in August 2014 to more than 3,000, it had more than 100,000 used cars listed for sale, and it launched TrustMark, a certification and warranty product for used cars. Rajat SahniRajat SahniRajat Sahni is an entrepreneur, angel investor and co-founder of dating platform Rivet. An IIT Delhi graduate, he was involved in founding Notion Ink and led CarDekho’s used-car and automotive-finance businesses before co-founding Rivet with Taru Kapoor.Open the full entry, business head of used cars, said the team had more than 100 inspection engineers inspecting over 15,000 cars a month, and that only about one in three cars received certification.⁠[2][2][2][2][2][2]

Around the same time the company acquired automotive portal Gaadi.com and a comparison shopping website; Girnar Software raised $50 million in a second funding round at a $300 million valuation and partnered with Ratan Tata, who would provide business advice.⁠[2][2][2]

CarDekho launched a digital loan platform for used-car dealers, connected to financial institutions including HDFC Bank, Axis, Tata Capital and Mahindra Finance, allowing dealers to check a buyer’s eligibility on the spot and upload documents to apply, with the aim of cutting processing time from an average of 10–15 days to under 72 hours. Rajat Sahni, then CEO of used cars, said about 70% of new-car buyers took loans while under 15% of used-car buyers financed their purchase.⁠[6][6][6][6][6][6]

Sequoia Capital India led CarDekho’s Series C in 2018. In November 2019 the company raised $70 million in a Series D led by Ping An’s Global Voyager at a valuation of $725 million.⁠[5][7]

CarDekho announced a $250 million pre-IPO round comprising $200 million of Series E equity and $50 million of debt at a valuation of $1.2 billion, becoming the first unicorn based in Jaipur and completing the largest fundraise in its history. The round was led by impact investor LeapFrog Investments, with new investors including Canyon Partners, Mirae Asset and Harbor Spring Capital, and existing investors Sequoia Capital India and Sunley House investing further.⁠[5][5][5][5][5]

The funds were to expand its used-car transactions, financial services and insurance businesses and to expand overseas; the company planned to grow its catalogue of certified used cars from 3,000 to 10,000. At the time the CarDekho Group had an annual revenue run rate of over $100 million, a team in India, Indonesia and the Philippines, and worked with more than 3,500 new-car dealers, more than 4,000 used-car dealers, 14-plus financial institutions and 40-plus insurers. Co-founder and CEO Amit Jain said CarDekho had evolved from a car research portal into a complete ecosystem for buying, owning and selling cars.⁠[5][5][5][5][5][5][5]

At the time CarDekho faced stiff competition in India’s used-car market from Cars24 and Spinny and was targeting a double-digit market share within five years.⁠[7]

CarDekho was reported to be in talks with investment banks and planning to file a draft prospectus in March 2025, seeking to raise about $500 million at a valuation of $2 billion to $2.5 billion, with early backers Peak XV, CapitalG and Hillhouse Capital planning to sell part of their stakes. The CarDekho Group’s operating revenue for fiscal 2022–23 was ₹2,331 crore, and its loss rose to ₹562 crore from ₹535 crore in the previous fiscal year. The company had also considered listing in 2021, but it did not happen.⁠[1][1][7][1][1]

CarDekho’s website and app offer expert reviews, specifications and prices, model comparisons, videos and pictures, and a 360-degree viewing tool called “Feel The Car”; the platform also hosts used-car classifieds and provides manufacturers and dealers with tools for lead management, sales tracking, digital marketing and virtual showrooms. The group also runs websites including Gaadi.com, ZigWheels.com, BikeDekho.com and PowerDrift.com and the insurance platform InsuranceDekho, and has entered Southeast Asia with Zigwheels.ph, Zigwheels.my and Oto.com and the UAE with Zigwheels.ae.⁠[3][3][3][3][4][3]

As of October 2021, CarDekho had raised $255 million in total, with investors including Ratan Tata, Sequoia India, Hillhouse Capital, Ping An, Sunley House, CapitalG, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Times Internet, Trifecta, Kreatif Media Karya and Dentsu.⁠[7]

CarDekho: Official website: https://www.cardekho.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[8]

X: Public account: https://x.com/CarDekho (opens in a new window)⁠[3]

LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Public profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardekhogroup/ (opens in a new window)⁠[3]

YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMSjsvDuobchFSw5U1SDaqg (opens in a new window)⁠[3]

Instagram: Public account: https://www.instagram.com/cardekhoindia/ (opens in a new window)⁠[3]