SoftBank leads $62m investment for India's Oyo

This is the first tranche of a larger funding round that could end up at $90 million, according to the Times of India, which cited people familiar with the matter. The second tranche will also be led by SoftBank and will include existing investors. Livemint, citing a disclosure with the Registrar of Companies, said that SoftBank contributed the initial tranche itself.

Oyo was launched in 2012 as Oravel.com, a marketplace for travelers planning short and mid-term holiday trips to book boutique hotels and serviced apartments. The original site was shut down and renamed Oyo in 2014; the parent company is now called Oravel Stays.

SoftBank led Oyo's $100 million Series B round last year, with participation from Greenoaks Capital, Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Ventures India. Greenoaks had led a INR1.5 billion investment in the company earlier that year, with support from Sequoia, Lightspeed and DSG Consumer Partners.

Oyo acquired a rival, Tiger Global Management-backed Zo Rooms, in February, after Zo Rooms' failed to raise a new round of funding from investors. Oyo's other competitors in India's online hotel-booking space include Stayzilla, which closed a $13.5 million Series C round earlier this year led by Matrix Partners India and Nexus Venture Partners.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Consumer
• Technology
• Expansion
• India
• Softbank
• TMT