Droom Technology Limited is an Indian company that maintains an online marketplace for buying and selling used and new automobiles.[2] Founded in April 2014, the company is based in Gurugram, Haryana and also operates in Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia,[3] besides 1,161 Indian town and cities.[4] In July 2021, Droom became Unicorn after raising $200 Mn in a pre-IPO funding round at a valuation of $1.2 billion.[5]
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive e-commerce |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Founder | Sandeep Aggarwal Rishab Malik |
| Headquarters | , |
| Revenue |  ₹136 crore (US$17 million) (FY21)[1] |
| ₹−69 crore (US$−8.6 million) (FY21)[1] | |
| Website | www |
History edit
Sandeep Aggarwal, who previously co-founded ShopClues together with Sanjay Sethi and Radhika Aggarwal, founded Droom with Rishab Malik in April 2014. The company was incorporated on 9 September 2014, and first launched in Delhi on 21 November 2014 as a platform for used cars.[6][7] Later, the company also added the buying and selling features for used cars and two-wheelers on its site and by 2015, it had operations in 100 cities across India.[5]
In 2016, the company entererd into a partnership with CashCare and incorporatd the Orange Book value pricing engine into its platform that helps in determining the fair market value of used automobiles.[7] In December of the same year, the company introduced Droom History, a national repository for vehicle history which provides used vehicle history by generating a vehicle history report.
In 2017, the company launched Droom Credit for auto financing, Droom Discovery for vehicle research, and ECO in 2019 for vehicle inspection.[7]
In 2018, Droom became the official sponsor of the MTV reality TV show Roadies’ 16th edition.[8] In October, the company launched its platform in Malaysia, Singapore in December, and Thailand in April 2019.[7]
In December 2018, the company acquired Xeraphin Finvest in an all-cash deal.[9] In March 2020, the company launched its Droom Health with Germ Shield sanitization services to make vehicles virus-proof. In April 2020 it extended its Germ Shield technology to Gurugram police to sanitize its fleet of vehicles.[10] In October, Droom acquired Delhi-NCR-based AR startup Visiolab Ideas for an undisclosed amount.[11]
Initial public offering (IPO) edit
In November 2021, the company announced that it had filed for an IPO to raise up to Rs 3000 crore (around $361.296 million) and listing on Nasdaq,[12][13] but withdrew its filing a year later in 2022, citing market conditions.[14][15]
Finances edit
In 2015, Droom raised $16 million from Lightbox Ventures, followed by its Series B funding for an undisclosed sum led by Singapore-based investor Beenext and Japanese incubator and venture capital firm Digital Garage. In July 2017, the company raised $20 million in Series C funding round from Integrated Asset Management and existing investor Digital Garage.[16] In 2018, it secured $30 million in funding for a Series D round led by Toyota Tsusho Corporation of Toyota Group and co-led by Digital Garage.[2] The company raised $30 Mn in series E funding round. Droom raised $10 Million as part of a series F round of funding in 2019 from its Singapore Based holding entity.[17]
In July 2021, the company raised $200 million in Pre-IPO round funding led by 57 Stars and Seven Train Ventures.[18]
Controversy edit
In 2018, Cyber Security Researcher Sayaan Alam found a vulnerability in Droom API-vulnerability that exposed users' data like addresses, PAN cards, banking details, etc. Droom fixed the issue in December 2018.[19]
In 2013, the company founder, Sandeep Agarwal was charged by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for insider trading when he was a Wall Street analyst.[20] In February 2020 all the charges were dropped by DoJ against him. SEC also reached a settlement with Sandeep.[3][21]
References edit
- ^ a b Dayalani, Vaishnavi (13 November 2021). "IPO-Bound Droom's Revenue Took A 25% Drubbing In FY21, Plummeted To INR 136 Cr". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- ^ a b Balachandaran, Manu. "Droom: Stepping On The Gas". Forbes India. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ a b Mathur, Nandita (2020-02-19). "US justice dept drops insider trading charges against Droom's Sandeep Aggarwal". mint. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ Mukherjee, Sharmistha (2022-08-29). "Droom Technology bets on four-fold demand in EVs by next three years". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ a b "Automobile marketplace Droom gets pre-IPO funding at $1.2 billion valuation". The Economic Times. 2021-07-28. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ "Riding high". Business Today. 2016-07-13. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ a b c d "Droom to foray into Thailand". The Times of India. 2019-04-26. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
- ^ "Droom is the title sponsor for MTV Dropout". The Times of India. 2017-04-18. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ Rawat, Aman (2019-11-03). "Droom Acquires NBFC Xeraphin To Boost Credit, Auto Loans Vertical". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ "Droom Allocates Rs 1 Crore For CSR To Curb The Spread Of Virus With It s Germ Shield Coating". BW Defence. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ "Droom acquires Visiolab Ideas". The Times of India. 2020-10-01. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ Chengappa, Sangeetha (2021-03-24). "Droom aims to list on the NASDAQ in H2 of 2022". www.thehindubusinessline.com. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ Dhanjal, Swaraj Singh (2021-09-19). "Droom looks to raise ₹1,000 cr from share sale early next year". mint. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ "Droom withdraws IPO plans amid volatile market". VCCircle. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
- ^ Gupta, Samie Modak & Aryaman (2022-10-28). "Boat joins PharmEasy, Droom to shelve listing plans amid valuation concerns". www.business-standard.com. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ "Automobiles portal Droom raises $20 mn in Series C funding". VCCircle. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
- ^ Mishra, Lalatendu (2021-07-27). "Droom to raise $200 mn in pre-IPO round". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
- ^ "Auto platform Droom joins unicorn club". The Times of India. 2021-07-29. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ "Droom Fixes Security Flaw That Exposed Users' Private Data, Banking Details". Gadgets 360. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ "Droom, a lesson in efficiency for startups". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ Alawadhi, Neha (2020-02-19). "US DoJ drops charges against Droom founder in insider trading case". www.business-standard.com. Retrieved 2023-02-18.