Microsoft has joined business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce platform Udaan in a $225 million fundraising through the sale of convertible bonds, Chief Financial Officer Aditya Pande said in an April 18 email to employees. Microsoft’s participation came before the Udaan program. Available within the next 12-18 months.

“We are pleased to announce that Microsoft Corporation has joined the convertible note offering we launched last October. M&G Prudential, Kaiser Permanente, Nomura, TOR, Arena Investors, Samena Capital, and Ishana Capital participated in the convertible note offering,” according to the media reports. The company had launched a convertible note offering in October 2021 and was twice as oversubscribed.

The round, which was $200 million last year, has grown to $225 million with participation from Microsoft and others.
The notes will be converted into equity when Udaan raises funds or during its planned initial public offering (IPO).
Pande further wrote, “The steps to strengthen the balance sheet by mandating the convertible notes to the IPO underscores the continued evolution of Udaan’s capital strategy and is in line with our preparations for a public listing in the next 12-18 months.”

With the close of the convertible note round, Udaan has raised nearly $275 million in total funds raised through debt and convertible bonds over the past six months. Udaan last raised money in January 2020 at a valuation of $3.1 billion. Its investors include DST Global, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and GGV Capital, among others.

Founded in 2016 by three former Flipkart executives, Vaibhav Gupta, Amod Malviya, and Sujeet Kumar, the company covers lifestyle, electronics, home and kitchen, staples, fruits and vegetables, FMCG, pharmaceuticals, toys and daily necessities, Department Stores, etc. In September last year, the company said Gupta had been named chief executive, in line with the evolution needed to become a public company within 18-24 months. Before the announcement, there was no CEO structure with three co-founders sharing responsibilities.

Udaan said the platform has more than 3 million users, 1.7 million retailers, and 30,000 sellers nationwide.
The platform supports supply chain and logistics operations focused on B2B trade and is underpinned by robust technology, delivered daily in over 900 cities and 12,000+ cryptos via udaanExpress. It provides financial products and services to small businesses, manufacturers, and retailers to grow their businesses through udaanCapital.