Gurgaon based startup Droom, an online market platform for new as well as old cars, has raised $30 million (Rs 204 crore) in a Series D round. The funding round was led by Toyota Tsusho Corporation, member of the Toyota Group, which owns the auto giant company Toyota Motors. The round also saw participation by several existing investors including Digital Garage and Ellison Investments.
Droom said that the funds will be used for developing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) platforms. The startup said that this will help in improving its operational capabilities. It will also use funds for international expansion. To this effect, it has signed an MOU with Toyota Tsusho Corporation for entering into the Southeast Asian markets.
Besides, Droom has hinted that it may go for an IPO next year. This would potentially make it the first car e-tailer startup to go public.
Droom is actually a new entrant in the auto e-commerce space but has made quite a splash in a very short span of time. The startup claims that nearly 27.3 million visitors visit its official website every month and also aims to more than double its GMV to $3.5 billion by 2019. Additionally, the company claims that it currently holds 70% market share.
Droom has had a very smooth run on the funding front as well, since it never faced problem in raising capital from investors. Its ability to bring a big auto giant like Toyota on the board certainly resonate the huge confidence that high-profile investors have on this Gurgaon based startup.
It competes will some well-established players Truebil, Zoomo, CarDekho, Carwale and CarTrade. Besides, popular online marketplaces like Olx and Quikr also pose huge competition. Most of these startups are evidently well funded and have enough financial cushion to compete with Droom.