Didi invests $100m in India's Oyo to close Series E round

The round values Oyo at around $5 billion. SoftBank Vision Fund led the initial $800 million tranche, while Didi’s Southeast Asian counterpart Grab committed another $100 million in December. Didi's participation was confirmed in filings with the Registrar of Companies cited by Indian media. 

Oyo provides budget hotel owners with a platform to market their rooms to travelers. The company partners with more than 8,500 hotels in India across 230 cities, and also operates its own line of accommodations under the Townhouse brand, offering a premium experience at properties leased and managed by Oyo.

Typical target hotels are small-scale and run by individuals that need help with hospitality best practices, technology, and marketing. Oyo positions itself as the only company providing the full range of services in the budget accommodation segment.

A significant portion of the Series E round will be used for growing Oyo’s presence in China, which the company describes as its second home market. Currently, Oyo works with more than 5,000 hotels in 280 cities under the Oyo Jiudian brand. It is also present in the UK, Malaysia, Nepal, and Indonesia, and is building a team to enter Spain and Portugal.

Oyo is the second Indian unicorn to be supported by Didi Chuxing, the product of a merger between rivals Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache. In 2015 the company, then called Didi Kuaidi, backed its Indian counterpart Ola by participating in a $500 million Series F round led by Baillie Gifford.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• South Asia
• Technology
• Consumer
• Expansion
• India
• China
• Didi Chuxing
• TMT
• Growth capital