Home Business Startups Droom Secures $3M Funding, Gea...

Droom Secures $3M Funding, Gears Up for IPO in Startup Surge

Startups

Business Honor
27 March, 2025

The automobile e-commerce startup strengthens tech, expands reach, and revives IPO plans.

Indian auto e-commerce firm Droom has raised $3 million (INR 24.75 Cr) in an undisclosed round of funding led by India Accelerator and Finvolve, with the support of a few angel investors like Rayzon Solar's Hardik Kothiya. The capital will be employed to boost the technology infrastructure of Droom, drive customer acquisition, and strengthen its market base in India.

Droom's new funding follows a spate of startup IPO activity in India. The firm intends to resubmit its Initial Public Offering (IPO) documents this year, its second such bid after pulling its INR 3,000 Cr IPO in 2021 because of market churn. Droom is also set to organize a pre-IPO round of funding worth INR 200 Cr to boost domestic shareholding, a plan other IPO-listed startups such as Zepto have followed.

Droom was founded in 2014 by Sandeep Aggarwal as a marketplace for the purchase and sale of vehicles. It initially dealt with bottom-end automobiles before a shift in 2022 to mid-luxury and premium automobiles, whose profitability per unit was considerably higher. The company today sells much more than automobiles, including car finance, software solutions, advertising, and leasing.

Despite the hiccups, Droom has attempted to tighten its purse. In FY24, it cut its net loss by 35% to INR 40.4 Cr and reduced its EBITDA loss from INR 57.3 Cr to INR 37.2 Cr, although its operating revenue declined.

Droom's growth is reflective of broader trends in India's dynamic startup economy and specifically the online automobile market, where startups like CarDekho, Spinny, and CARS24 are employing AI and digital technologies to transform the industry. With India looking to become the world's largest car market by 2030, Droom's IPO could be a landmark moment in the startup ecosystem's history.