India’s Udaan Names Founder Gupta as CEO, Eyes IPO
Udaan, India’s largest B2B e-commerce platform, prepares for a public listing within the next two years.
(Bloomberg) -- Udaan, India’s largest B2B e-commerce platform, said co-founder Vaibhav Gupta will be chief executive officer as the startup prepares for a public listing within the next two years.
“As we embark on the next phase of our growth journey, it is important to lay the right foundations for that,” Gupta said in a statement Friday. “It is with this objective that this structure has been created that will help in the evolution of the organization, enhance agility & efficiency, drive innovation and bring us closer to the customer.”
Udaan’s two other two co-founders, Amod Malviya and Sujeet Kumar, will continue as board members and help transition the startup to a CEO-led structure ahead of the IPO, according to the statement. Gupta’s appointment was effective Sept. 10.
Founded in 2016, the Bangalore-based startup invested 40 billion rupees ($544 million) in the past 12 to 18 months into technology, supply chains and credit to strengthen the business. The platform has over 3 million users, 1.7 million retailers and 30,000 sellers.
Udaan’s backers include Tencent Holdings Ltd., Lightspeed, DST Global, GGV Capital and Altimeter. The startup sources directly from small manufacturers, farmers and mill owners to supply to neighborhood stores, restaurants, offices and street vendors.
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