CarDekho Group

CarDekho Group
Company typePrivate
IndustryAutomotive technology, digital marketplaces
Founded2008
FoundersAmit Jain
Anurag Jain
HeadquartersJaipur, Rajasthan, India
Area served
India, Southeast Asia, Middle East
Revenue₹2,795 crore (FY2025)
Number of employees
6000+
ParentGirnar Software Private Limited
SubsidiariesGaadi.com
ZigWheels
PowerDrift
Revv
Websitewww.cardekho.com

CarDekho Group (legally Girnar Software Private Limited) is an Indian automotive technology company headquartered in Jaipur, Rajasthan.[1][2] Founded in 2008 by brothers Amit Jain and Anurag Jain,[3] it operates online marketplaces for new and used vehicles and provides related services in insurance distribution, vehicle financing, and shared mobility.[4][5] Its platforms include CarDekho, BikeDekho, ZigWheels,[6] InsuranceDekho and Revv.[7][8]

The company expanded through venture funding and acquisitions during the 2010s and achieved unicorn status in 2021 following a major funding round.[9]

History

Founding and early years (2007–2012)

The parent entity, GirnarSoft, was established in 2007[10] as a software outsourcing firm by Amit and Anurag Jain, both alumni of IIT Delhi.[5][11] The brothers operated initially the business from Jaipur.[12] Following a visit to the 2008 Delhi Auto Expo, the founders launched CarDekho.com[13] to digitize automotive information in India.[14][15] In 2009, the firm nearly went bankrupt following a major financial loss in the stock market.[16] The founders pivoted to focus on organic growth.[17] By 2012, the platform reached 25 million monthly visitors without institutional funding.[18]

Funding and acquisitions (2013–2020)

The group's first major institutional funding arrived in 2013 with a $15 million Series A round led by Sequoia Capital (now Peak XV Partners).[19][20] In February 2015, Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, made a personal investment in the company and assumed a mentorship role.[21][22] Between 2014 and 2018, the group consolidated the online auto market through the acquisitions of Gaadi.com (2014),[23] ZigWheels.com (2015),[24] and the YouTube content platform PowerDrift (2018).[25]

Expansion and restructuring (2021–present)

In October 2021, the company raised US$250 million in a funding round led by LeapFrog Investments,[26][27] after which it was valued at over US$1 billion.[28][29] From 2023, CarDekho reduced its inventory-led used-car retail operations and shifted toward an asset-light marketplace model focused on intermediation, insurance distribution and vehicle financing services. In 2025, CarDekho entered discussions with competitor CarTrade regarding a potential merger.[30] The talks were later discontinued, and both companies continued to operate independently.[31] The same year, the group confidentially filed draft papers for an initial public offering in India.[4]

Operations

CarDekho expanded outside India beginning in 2016 with the launch of OTO.com in Indonesia.[32] It later entered the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand through acquisitions and local partnerships.[33] In 2024, the Southeast Asia business secured external funding to expand its financing operations.

In 2025, the company entered the Middle East market with operations in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.[34]

Controversies and criticisms

Software licensing litigation

In June 2016, Microsoft filed a lawsuit against the company alleging unauthorized software use.[35] The Bombay High Court initially issued an ex-parte order, but later vacated it, with Justice Gautam Patel criticizing Microsoft for gross suppression of facts regarding the company's use of open-source software. The case was settled in August 2016.[36]

Consumer complaints

The company has faced consumer disputes relating to seller verification and delays in vehicle registration transfers on its marketplace. In 2022, a district consumer court ruled against the company in a fraud-related case and directed it to strengthen verification processes. The order was upheld on appeal.[37]

Financial challenges and layoffs

Analysts have noted the company's struggle with inviable unit economics in the inventory-led model, reporting losses of ₹30,000–35,000 per vehicle prior to its 2023 pivot.[38][39] CarDekho implemented several rounds of layoffs, including 200 staff in 2020 due to the pandemic, and further reductions in 2023 following the closure of physical retail stores.[40][41]

References

  1. ^ Sinha, Ritwik (2022-02-07). "CarDekho drives fast with 'fin-sure'". Business India. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  2. ^ Raj, Amrit (2016-03-30). "How CarDekho is planning to redefine car ownership business". mint. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  3. ^ Venkatraman, Aarti (2016-08-18). "From A Small IT Venture in Jaipur To A Multi-Billion Dollar Company By 2021: CarDekho's GirnarSoft Aims High, Dreams Big". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  4. ^ a b Singh, Rajiv (April 5, 2024). "CarDekho: Amit Jain and Anurag Jain's journey from tiny startup in Jaipur to IPO". Forbes India. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  5. ^ a b Singh, Rajiv (November 16, 2021). "Used-Vehicle: Small to Mall: How CarDekho Is Giving A New-Car Experience To Used-Vehicle Buyers". Forbes India. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  6. ^ Current Affairs September 2015 eBook: Jagran Josh. Jagran Josh. 2026-03-15.
  7. ^ Bhatnagar, Rishabh (December 1, 2023). "CarDekho Acquires Majority Stake In Car Rental Startup Revv". NDTV Profit.
  8. ^ Sabharwal, Punita (2019-05-30). "Riding High on Car Search". Entrepreneur India. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  9. ^ Singh, Manish (2021-10-12). "India's CarDekho becomes unicorn with $250 million fundraise". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  10. ^ Pal Chauhan, Chanchal (2017-03-04). "HARD DRIVE - BusinessToday". Business Today. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  11. ^ Singh, Shreyasi (2016-04-10). "No sibling rivalry". mint. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  12. ^ Raj, Amrit (2016-02-11). "Why investors are interested in CarDekho". mint. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  13. ^ Brown, Lily (2022-11-18). "Meet Amit Jain, replacing Ashneer Grover on Shark Tank India season 2". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  14. ^ Singh, Rajiv (July 9, 2019). "Building startups in the pink city". Forbes India. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  15. ^ Rai, Saritha (February 14, 2023). "Goldman Sachs Leads India Fintech Funding While Deals Dry Up". Bloomberg News.
  16. ^ Farzeen, Sana (2023-02-14). "Shark Tank India 2's Amit Jain says he went bankrupt, lost money in share market: 'But I had my brains and hands…'". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  17. ^ "Shark Tank India's Amit Jain: 'Lost more than Rs 1.5 crore on shares, was bankrupt...'". Moneycontrol.com. February 15, 2023.
  18. ^ Swarup, Dr. Kriti. "A Case Study on Cleardekho.com: Growth and franchising Strategies" (PDF).
  19. ^ "CarDekho gets Rs 90 crore from Sequoia Capital". The Economic Times. 2013-11-28. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  20. ^ Russell, Jon (2019-01-03). "Auto marketplace CarDekho grabs $110M to double down on insurance and financial services". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  21. ^ Sharma, Samidha (2015-02-09). "Ratan Tata invests in CarDekho". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  22. ^ Sharma Punit, Itika; Das, Sohini (February 10, 2015). "From two laptops to Tata's mentorship, lives of cardekho.com's founders come full circle". Business Standard.
  23. ^ "Auto portal Cardekho acquires Gaadi.com". The Times of India. 2014-09-30. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  24. ^ "CarDekho is set to acquire Zigwheels". The Times of India. 2015-09-12. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  25. ^ "CarDekho parent buys content firm PowerDrift". The Economic Times. 2018-08-17. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  26. ^ "CarDekho Group posts 24% revenue growth in FY25, narrows losses". ETAuto.com. 30 December 2025.
  27. ^ Dhanrajani, Rachna (2025-11-10). "Exclusive | CarTrade to buy CarDekho, eyes $1.2 billion-plus deal in one of India's biggest auto-tech deals - CNBC TV18". CNBC TV18. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  28. ^ Sachdev, Alisha; Madcarenhas, Rajesh (September 8, 2025). "Used-Car Unicorns Slim Down to Raise $1 Billion Via India IPOs -". Bloomberg News.
  29. ^ Shanthi, S (2025-05-26). "'The Big Idea': Jaipur's first unicorn". The Financial Express. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  30. ^ Subramaniam, Nikhil (2021-05-17). "How CarTrade Became India's Only Profitable Automobile Marketplace". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  31. ^ Upadhyay, Harsh (November 2025). "CarTrade and CarDekho mutually call off acquisition talks". Entrackr.
  32. ^ Ghosh, Shrabona (September 16, 2023). "CarDekho: Built With Precision". Entrepreneur (magazine).
  33. ^ Park, Kate (2024-12-10). "CarDekho SEA raises first-ever outside funding, co-founder says he's interested in acquisitions". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  34. ^ Kashyap, Kartikay (2025-02-25). "CarDekho Kickstarts UAE Expansion Plans". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  35. ^ Deshpande, Swati (2016-07-29). "Bombay high court relief for Microsoft in dispute with Girnar". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  36. ^ Vyas, Maulik (2016-10-05). "Cardekho.com owner Girnar Software & Microsoft to settle legal dispute amicably". Techcircle. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  37. ^ "CAR DEKHO .COM, (GIRNAR SOFTWARE PVT LTD v. ANIL KUMAR DATTA, State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Judgment, Law". Casemine.com. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  38. ^ "CarDekho Group reports 11% fall in FY24 net revenue; net loss narrows". The Economic Times. 2024-11-28. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  39. ^ Haswani, Kashish. "CarDekho's Surprising Exit from Used Car Retail Business". indianstartupnews.com. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  40. ^ "CarDekho lays off 200 employees, up to 22.5% pay cut for rest". The Economic Times. 2020-05-26. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  41. ^ Soni, Yatti (2022-11-05). "CarDekho moves to 'operation from yards' model to achieve better unit economics". Business Line. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
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