Tiger Global, the US investment fund that made a string of big bets on Indian startups in a span of a few weeks, is looking to write another large cheque soon for GoMechanic, a Gurugram-based vehicle service and repair startup, said two people aware of the development.
The American investment firm is in discussions to invest up to $100 million in GoMechanic, at a likely valuation of as much as $500 million, they said on condition of anonymity.
“This is a highly unorganized and competitive market, and the opportunity is big. The pandemic has seen customers becoming more comfortable with online channels for booking cars, and the same is also being seen with the after-sales service market. It also helps the standalone service outlets grow business at a time when things are becoming difficult for them with the rising complexity of cars as more stringent standards are being introduced and customer doubts over the authenticity of spare parts used,” said one of the people cited above.
An email sent to Tiger Global did not elicit a response, while messages sent to a spokesperson for GoMechanic too remained unanswered.
Founded by Kushal Karwa, Amit Bhasin, Rishabh Karwa and Nitin Rana, GoMechanic is a network of tech-enabled car service centres.
The startup claims to have more than 500 service partners on its platform and over 10,000 car services a month, according to its website.
Last June, the startup raised an undisclosed sum from Pawan Munjal, chairman and managing director of Hero MotoCorp Ltd, the country’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer. In December 2019, it raised ₹105 crore in Series-B funding led by Chiratae Ventures and Sequoia Capital, with Orios Venture Partners also participating. The startup also counts Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal and angel investor Dhianu Das among its investors.
Tiger Global, known for its big Flipkart bet, has made several major bets in Indian startups in just three months, in the process creating almost half of dozen unicorns or startups valued at over a billion dollars.
Earlier this month, it led a $500 million round in Sharechat, valuing it at over $2 billion.