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India’s Udaan scores $340 million in new funding

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The investment arm of the U.K. retail bank M&G has led a funding of $340 million into Udaan, a business-to-business e-commerce startup, in one of the largest financing rounds secured by an Indian startup in 2023.

The Bengaluru-headquartered startup, which helps merchants in smaller Indian cities and towns secure inventories from major brands as well as gain access to working capital, said the new funds include some convertible debt.

Existing backers Lightspeed Venture Partners and DST Global also participated in the new round, which awaits regulatory approval. Udaan competes with a number of players, including Mukesh Ambani’s $100 billion Reliance Retail, the largest retail chain in India.

The new funding round, Udaan’s first with equity since 2021, ensures that the startup is “fully funded” and on track to becoming profitable in the next 12-18 months, the seven-year-old startup said. The startup is eyeing filing for an initial public offering in 2025 and has over the years consulted with bankers to check readiness.

Udaan didn’t share how M&G and other investors valued the startup in the new round. It was valued at $3.1 billion (post-money) in 2021 and the new round is certainly a down round. Its gross revenue in the financial year ending March stood at about $680 million, whereas loss was trimmed to under $380 million.

The Series E funding, nonetheless, is a huge boost for the startup that has spent the last two years trimming costs and becoming more efficient. It also needed some funds to repay a loan that was coming due early next 2024 and required the startup to have just as much capital raised against equity in the bank for the entire tenure of the lending, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Founded by three former Flipkart executives, the trio together ran the startup until 2021 when Vaibhav Gupta was elevated as the startup’s first chief executive officer.

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From Ambani to Bezos’ Amazon to Udaan founders’ previous employer Walmart’s Flipkart to FMCG brands and lenders, scores of firms in India are attempting to serve kirana stores — the tens of millions of stores including mom-and-pop shops that dot thousands of cities, towns and villages of India and serve as the nation’s backbone.

These retailers and suppliers have traditionally relied on small, localized wholesaler networks, which are relationship-based and costly to maintain. Even some of the largest brands — like Unilever, which operates one of the strongest distributions networks — reach only a fraction of the country’s hundreds of thousands of villages, cities and towns.

Udaan works with thousands of sellers and connects them to 3 million retailers, allowing the smaller merchants to gain access to high-quality and reliable products across categories including grocery, fruits and vegetables, FMCG, as well as lifestyle, electronics, home and kitchen and pharma.

“The regional-operated design will not only get us closer to our customers, but also make our operations more agile and efficient,” said Gupta in a statement. “We are committed, as ever, to our mission to empower small businesses of Bharat, while unlocking a uniquely Indian and huge $100 billion eB2B market opportunity.”

The startup says its reach extends beyond 1,200 cities in India for daily delivery and over 12,500 ZIP codes through a of supply chain system. Udaan also extends working capital to small businesses, freeing them from chasing their customers who typically settle at the end of the month or at a later date.

“M&G is pleased to support Udaan as it pursues a profitable growth strategy,” said Niranjan Sirdeshpande, (EMEA) Director at M&G Catalyst, in a statement. “We believe it has the right operational platform to be the trusted partner of scale to small businesses across India by empowering them with technology, financial inclusivity, and supply chain capabilities. Our investment strategy aligns with Udaan’s ambition to simplify and increase efficiency in a congested B2B market.”

Udaan has raised over $1.5 billion against equity and through debt over the years, according to market intelligence platform The Kredible. It is one of the largest investments of Lightspeed in India and other global markets, based on the amount the venture investor has put into the startup. Lightspeed owned more than a third of Udaan prior to the Series E funding.

“We are extremely excited to continue supporting Udaan as it further strengthens its leadership as India’s largest EB2B marketplace,” said Bejul Somaia, a partner at Lightspeed, in a statement. “We believe this financing puts the company on an extremely strong financial footing and on course to further improve profitability while empowering small businesses across Bharat.”

India’s top VCs face fresh obstacles as startup investment plummets



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Funding & Investment in Travel

MDU and ITC Hotels launch India’s first apprenticeship embedded degree programme in hospitality and tourism

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ITC Hotel Classic Golf and Country Club, and MDU Rohtak partner to launch first apprenticeship-integrated hospitality degree under UGC’s AEDP guidelines

ROHTAK: In a significant academic-industry collaboration, Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ITC Hotels’ Classic Golf & Country Club, launching India’s first Apprenticeship Embedded Degree Programme (AEDP) in hospitality and tourism under the public university framework, aligned with the UGC Guidelines 2025.The MoU was formally exchanged between Dr. Krishan Kant Gupta, Registrar, MDU, and Pradeep Kumar, Executive Vice President, ITC Hotel Classic Golf Country Club in the august presence of Prof. Rajbir Singh, Vice Chancellor, MDU. Under this collaboration, two skill-integrated undergraduate programmes—BBA (Hospitality & Services Management) and BBA (Tourism, Travel & Events Management)—will be introduced, each with an annual intake of 30 students.These four-year programmes follow a hybrid model, with the first two years dedicated to academic coursework at MDU, and the latter two years structured as an industry apprenticeship at ITC’s Classic Golf & Country Club. The curriculum will be co-designed with ITC professionals to ensure alignment with evolving industry standards.“This initiative marks a new era in skill-based education. Through this collaboration, MDU is pioneering a model that bridges academia and industry, nurturing career-ready professionals,” said Prof. Rajbir Singh, Vice Chancellor, MDU.Key features of the MoU include a monthly stipend for students during apprenticeship, along with provision for meals and accommodation. The program also includes field visits, guest lectures, mentorship by industry professionals, and the potential for performance-based placements.The initiative was lauded by university leaders including Prof. Harish Kumar (Dean Academic Affairs), Prof. Rajpal Singh, Prof. Ashish Dahiya, Prof. Pardeep Ahlawat, Prof. Sandeep Malik, and Prof. Ajay Rajan, who termed it a benchmark in NEP-2020-aligned, employability-driven education.TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here.





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Pattaya adapts to welcoming Indians and Westerners, while hoping for Chinese tourism’s return

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Some say Western retirees are Pattaya’s biggest spenders, while others remain hopeful for a comeback of Chinese mass tourism. (Photo by Jetsada Homklin)

PATTAYA, Thailand — As Thailand continues promoting its “Welcome All” tourism revival campaign, some foreign visitors in Pattaya are quietly wondering: What happens if the Chinese return — and what if they don’t?

Strolling along Jomtien Beach or lounging in bars on Soi Buakhao, it’s not uncommon to hear debates about whether Pattaya’s fortunes still hinge on mass Chinese tourism, or if the city has already moved on.

“They’ll be back,” said one longtime European retiree. “Just as soon as they realize there’s nothing to do in Vietnam or elsewhere.”

But not everyone agrees. “No one really cares about Chinese tourists,” one tourist bluntly claimed. “They’ve never been big spenders and will never be. Get more Westerners — they’re the real big spenders.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by others who say Western retirees are the real financial engine behind Pattaya’s nightlife and hospitality industries. “Retirees can spend 10,000 baht a night,” said a bar owner. “Chinese groups come, take pictures, and maybe spend much less than that as per person.”

However, some locals are less certain. “Indians have taken over,” one Pattaya shopkeeper shrugged. “Chinese aren’t too keen on coming here now.”

But another argued, “Maybe you haven’t seen the Chinese eat and spend — they do it easily here, especially in restaurants and shopping malls.”

With changing visitor patterns, Pattaya’s businesses adapt—welcoming Indians, Westerners, and hoping Chinese groups will soon follow. (Photo by Jetsada Homklin)

Yet despite the critiques, businesses haven’t given up on the return of Chinese mass tourism. Many remember the packed tour buses and back-to-back bookings before the pandemic. “Obviously, you haven’t seen nothing yet,” said a Thai tour guide, optimistic about a comeback.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is working hard, busting their whole office to make the return happen sooner or later — arranging chartered flights, fast lanes at airports, elevated safety measures, and AI-aided security to welcome visitors back smoothly and confidently.

Others remain skeptical — comparing hopes for the Chinese revival to the long-dashed expectations of Japanese tourist rebounds after the 1991 economic crash. “They are the same people who awaited the revival in the number of Japanese tourists,” one expat remarked dryly.

For now, Pattaya waits — balancing its hopes on a mix of returning Chinese visitors, Indian family tours, and Western retirees. One thing is clear: no one group will carry the city forward alone.









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Typhoon Wipha causes travel chaos as hundreds of flights canceled in Hong Kong

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HONG KONG, July 20 — Hong Kong issued its third-highest tropical cyclone warning in the early hours of Sunday as Typhoon Wipha drew nearer, with authorities cancelling classes and grounding hundreds of flights.

Wipha was located around 280 kilometres southeast of Hong Kong as of midnight (1600 GMT), according to Hong Kong’s weather observatory.

The observatory has hoisted the T8 warning signal, meaning that “winds with mean speeds of 63 kilometres per hour or more are expected”.

The storm was expected to keep intensifying, moving across the northern part of the South China Sea and edging closer to the coast of China’s Guangdong province.

“There will be frequent heavy squally showers and thunderstorms over the region. Seas will be high with swells,” the observatory added.

China’s Hainan and Guangdong provinces were also put on high alert, state news agency Xinhua reported Saturday.

More than 250 flights servicing Hong Kong had been cancelled as of late Saturday, according to the website of the city’s international airport.

Hong Kong’s Airport Authority asked travellers to prepare for “significant flight cancellations or delays” and said that no passenger flights are expected to depart the city before Sunday noon.

Authorities suspended Sunday’s classes at all day schools and daycare centres.

Bus services are expected to be halted until midday Sunday.

Wipha brought heavy rains and flooding to the Philippines and two people have been reported missing, according to the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. — AFP

 



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