CarWale.com, India’s leading automotive Internet portal, announces the successful completion of a 'Series A' round of financing. The investment was led by Sierra Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm with more than $1.5 billion under management and a successful track record of investing in technology companies in India. This funding will be used to fuel CarWale’s growth strategy including expanding sales distribution, increasing marketing efforts, and continuing investment in product activities.
Tim Guleri and Vispi Daver of Sierra Ventures will join the company’s Board of Directors. CarWale had earlier received seed stage funding from India’s leading early stage fund Seedfund. Mr. Pravin Gandhi, Managing Partner, Seedfund, represents the firm on the company’s Board. Mr. Gandhi earlier founded India's first IT Company and has been part of the investment team behind companies like Indiabulls and Indiagames.
“CarWale exists to empower car consumers and deliver hassle free car researching and buying. This investment will help us in providing more services and better value to Indian car consumers†said Mohit Dubey, CEO, CarWale.com. “Our partnership with Sierra Ventures will launch a very exciting era for our organization and we are proud to have attracted a top-tier Silicon Valley venture capital firm focused on India to help us build the company,†added Mr. Dubey.
“Sierra Ventures invests in market-leading companies in high growth industries and CarWale has an undisputed leadership position in the sector†said Vispi Daver, Partner at Sierra Ventures. “The company has a strong business model and a management team that has consistently delivered compelling results†added Mr. Daver. Sierra Ventures has made several investments in India including MakeMyTrip.com, India’s largest online travel portal.
"CarWale has evolved from a nascent automotive website to the largest automotive portal in the country. They have the potential to significantly influence the Indian automotive industry," said Pravin Gandhi, Managing Partner, Seedfund. "We recognized the team and business model early and are pleased to support the continued growth of the company."
