Cars24 Becomes Seventh Unicorn in Pandemic Year After Raising $200 Mn Pre-owned vehicle buying and selling platform Cars24 has raised USD 200 million in Series E funding round led by DST Global.

Pre-owned vehicle buying and selling platform Cars24 on Tuesday said it has raised USD 200 million in Series E funding round led by internet investment firm DST Global.

The latest fundraise, which has knocked up the company's valuation over USD 1 billion, also saw participation from existing investors Exor Seeds, Moore Strategic Ventures and Unbound.

Cars24 is India's 33^rd unicorn—startups valued USD 1 billion or more—and seventh in the year 2020 along with Pine Labs, Nykaa, Zerodha, Postman, Unacademy and Razorpay.

Founded in 2015 by Vikram Chopra, Mehul Agrawal, Ruchit Agarwal and Gajendra Jangid, Cars24 allows customers to buy and sell pre-owned vehicles, both two- and four-wheelers.

The company said it plans to use the fresh capital to invest in technology and product innovation and scale new business verticals.

"With this investment, we will continue to innovate our product and bolster our capabilities to provide the best experience for all parties - with sellers getting the best value for their car, and buyers getting to choose from a wide assortment of automobiles," said Vikram Chopra, Co-founder and CEO.

"Traditionally, car selling or buying has been a tiresome process, however, over the last five years, we have strived to transform the customer's journey- 'the CARS24 way' that is hassle-free, safe and transparent."

The company claims to have exceeded pre-Covid levels with annual transactions exceeding 2 lakh units and 4X increase in website engagement. The company's technology offerings include an innovative auction format, an inspection app and an algorithm that matches supply and demand across the country. In addition, CARS24 also features an innovative price discovery mechanism for used vehicles.

"CARS24 has pioneered a significantly differentiated experience for the customer and dealer by deeply leveraging data and technology at each step, resulting in world-class operational efficiency and market leadership in the segment," said Rahul Mehta, managing partner at DST Global.

"We are very excited to partner with Vikram, Mehul, Ruchit, Gajendra and the entire management team and look forward to working together as they continue to deliver tremendous value to the entire ecosystem through first principles thinking."

Last year, Cars24 also started financing options with 2-hour disbursals.