Indian hotel startup OYO valued at $10 billion after $1.5 billion Series F
- Dan Primack, author of Axios Pro Rata
Aditya Ghosh, CEO of India operations at OYO. Photo: Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times/Getty Images
OYO, an India-based budget lodging company, said it is raising $1.5 billion in Series F funding at a $10 billion valuation.
Why it matters: It reflects how the WeWork debacle won't automatically impair investor interest in non-software startups being valued as software companies.
Investors: Founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal will invest $700 million as part of previously announced plans to spend $2 billion to increase his stake from 10% to 30%. Return backers include SoftBank, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia India.
The bottom line: "Agarwal, who founded Oyo in 2013, has built it into India’s second-most valuable startup. ... Its service covers 1.2 million rooms in over 80 countries, including 590,000 rooms in China. It entered the U.S. earlier this year and now has 7,500 rooms in 60 cities," writes Bloomberg's Saritha Rai.
Editor's note: The photo caption has been corrected to reflect the fact that Aditya Ghosh is the CEO of India operations at OYO (not its founder).