Before its anticipated IPO in 2025, Indian e-commerce firm Udaan is concentrating on cutting expenses and establishing partnerships with consumer goods companies. Operating profitability is the business’s goal, according to the chief executive officer Vaibhav Gupta, and it should happen in 18 months. Lightspeed Venture Partners-backed Udaan is among a slew of Indian startups aiming to capitalise on the expanding economy of the nation while satisfying investor expectations for profitability. With its financial technology division, Udaan, which provides small merchants with an online marketplace and logistical network, is also branching out into lending.
The priority “is steady and predictable financial performance,” Gupta said. “Second, strategically we want to ensure that we are top of mind with shopkeepers, with big manufacturers, and we maintain our relative market share”, he added.
Udaan Aims to capitalize on India's customer base
funded by Lightspeed Venture Partners Amongst the businesses attempting to capitalise on India’s customer base and economy’s explosive expansion is Udaan, which is also aiming to satisfy investor requests for revenue generation.
At the height of its employment, Udaan brought in thousands of people. Last year, it, along with other Indian startups, reduced employment and tightened internal controls as well as compliance.
With around 1,800 employees as of right now, Gupta would not say if more layoffs are necessary.
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Corporate governance errors at Byju’s, an Indian online teaching company that was once the country’s most valuable startup with a 22-billion-dollar value, exposed the particular difficulties encountered by South Asian entrepreneurs and encouraged other businesses to exercise greater caution.
“We continue to move towards more professionalized management, professionalized board and also institutionalized shareholders as we go towards public markets,” Gupta said.
Udaan has not yet decided if it will be listed internationally or in India. According to a report by September Business Standard, it was in discussions to raise a total of 400 million dollars and was estimated at more than three billion dollars in a 2021 investment round. Tencent Holdings Ltd. owns 6 percent of Udaan, while Lightspeed owns approximately 35 percent.
In 2016, three developers who worked before at Flipkart launched the firm. Until Vaibhav Gupta, who was among the founders, took on the role of the chief executive officer in 2021, the three of them jointly managed Udaan. Amod Malviya and Sujeet Kumar, the other two founders, are members of the board.
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