Gurugram-based budget hotel chain OYO has raised ₹700 crores ($100 million) in a corporate funding round from China-based ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing. The startup plans to use the funds to expand in China, where it has recently entered. Some part of the fund will be used for India operations.
Star Virtue Investment, a firm controlled by Didi Chuxing, has led the investment in the firm. This latest round comes soon after it raised ₹5,600 crores ($800 million) from Softbank and marks its closing of ₹7,000 crores ($1 billion) round that was announced last year at a valuation of ₹35,000 crores ($5 billion).
Media reports speculate that this round can be of strategic value for both of the companies as they look forward to expanding globally. Last year, Singapore-based ride-hailing firm Grab invested ₹700 crores ($100 million) in the firm. This is the second time when a ride-hailing company has placed bets on OYO.
OYO has made significant changes in its leadership team and appointed new management heads for several countries. In China, Sam Shi will head OYO as COO along with Wilson Li as CFO, Jia Zhou as CTO and Tony Liang as CHRO. The management team will directly report to Ritesh Agarwal as he will lead the China operations in his personal capacity.
OYO has already expanded itself in 280 cities of China with more than 5,000 hotels and 2,60,000 rooms using a mix of franchised and leased properties. After China, OYO expanded to Dubai as well as picked up South Asian and European markets. The startup has successfully expanded its base to Indonesia, Nepal, Malaysia, Portugal, Spain, Germany, London and the Philippines.
The startup has recently launched its operations in the US.
