Urban Company (formerly known as UrbanClap) is an Indian service provider company that connects individuals with professionals for home services. Founded in 2014, the company is headquartered in Gurgaon. It was founded by Raghav Chandra, Abhiraj Bhal, and Varun Khaitan.[2] In January 2020, Urban Clap rebranded itself as Urban Company.[3][4]
 | |
| Formerly | UrbanClap |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Service industries Consumer electronics |
| Founded | November 2014 |
| Founder | Abhiraj Singh Bhal Raghav Chandra Varun Khaitan |
| Headquarters | Gurgaon, Haryana, India |
Area served | India UAE Singapore Australia USA |
| Services | Home Services Home appliances |
| Revenue |  ₹637 crore (US$76 million) (FY23)[1] |
 ₹−308 crore (US$−37 million) (FY23) | |
| Website | urbancompany |
The company was last valued at $2.8 billion in December 2021 after an ESOP sale.[5]
History
editUrbanClap was founded in October 2014 by Varun Khaitan, Abhiraj Bhal, and Raghav Chandra, all of whom had substantial experience living in the United States. Khaitan's background includes engineering roles at Qualcomm and a consultancy position at Boston Consulting Group, where Bhal was also employed. Chandra brought experience from his engineering role at Twitter (now X). The company was established with the objective of addressing the fragmented home services market, with an initial emphasis on delivering reliable and convenient beauty services in the home environment.[2]
In January 2020, the company rebranded from UrbanClap to Urban Company, aiming to become a comprehensive platform offering a variety of services and expanding into international markets.[6] Following this rebrand, Urban Company extended its services to Australia, Singapore, and the UAE.[7]
By 2023, the company had launched operations in the United States, servicing New York City, Dallas, and Austin in Texas.[8]
Funding
editThe company secured seed funding of $1 million in January 2015 from investors including Accel Partners and SAIF Partners. The startup then raised a Series A investment of $10 million from investors SAIF Partners and Accel Partners, which it used to grow across the entire country.[9]
It then raised $25 million in a series B round that was led by Bessemer Venture Partners with participation from returning investors SAIF and Accel Partners[10]
A series D round of $50 million was raised by the company in 2018 which was led by Steadview Capital and existing investor Vy Capital.[11]
In series E round led Tiger Global, the company raised $75 million to expand its business. Existing investors Steadview Capital and Vy Capital also participated in the round.[12]
In June 2021, Urban Company Raises USD 255 Million In Series F Funding led by new investors Prosus Ventures, Dragoneer and Wellington Management, with participation from existing investors Vy Capital, Tiger Global and Steadview capital at $2.1 billion valuation.[13]
In July 2024, Urban Company secured $50 million funding from Dharana Capital involving a secondary transaction, where Dharana Capital bought shares from employees and other shareholders.[14]
Reception
editIn June 2023, a report revealed that beauticians associated with Urban Company are required to pay for training before they can begin working on the platform.[15] Several gig workers told that Urban Company is blocking their IDs (both temporarily and permanently) due to issues such as booking cancellations, taking off from work for two to three days, and a fall in user rating.[16] The company's spokesperson responded saying, "We continue to maintain an open-door policy and encourage dialogue with our partners. We remain committed to building a safe high-quality home service platform."[17]
In June 2024, Urban Company's beauty segment workers stage demonstration in Bengaluru over ID blocking.[18] Partners and gig workers associated with the platform have had issues with the 'auto assign' features, ID blocking and costly grievance remedy.[19] The Gig and Platform Services Workers Union (GIPSWU) said that the protest was against the new work conditions, which are horrific and have forced "thousands of partners to work under slavery like situations."[20] Abhiraj Bahl has stood by the rating policy, mentioning that service partners typically have an average rating of about 4.83. He noted that while this may appear elevated, many customers tend to give a full 5 stars. He also commented that "local politicians and unions often exploit these disagreements to exert pressure on the company."[21]
References
edit- ^ "Urban Company posts Rs 637 Cr revenue in FY23, losses shrink by 40%". Entrackr.
- ^ a b Shu, Catherine (2015-04-24). "India's UrbanClap Matches Customers With The Best Local Service Providers". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
- ^ Dimri, Shubhanshi (2020-01-30). "Urban Clap rebrands itself as 'Urban Company'". National Herald. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
- ^ Inc42, Team (2020-01-30). "Breaking: UrbanClap Rebrands To Urban Company With Six New Sub-Brands". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Urban Company valued at $2.8 billion after Esop sale". Livemint. 12 December 2021.
- ^ "UrbanClap rebrands itself as Urban Company". The Economic Times. 2020-01-30. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
- ^ Agarwal, Nikhil (30 January 2020). "UrbanClap renamed Urban Company as the startup expands to international markets". Livemint.
- ^ Team, OfficeChai (2023-06-14). "India's Urban Company Launches Operations In The USA, Offers Home Cleaning Services". OfficeChai. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
- ^ Shu, Catherine (2015-06-29). "Local Services Marketplace UrbanClap Gets $10M Series A To Expand Throughout India". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
- ^ Shu, Catherine (2015-11-19). "UrbanClap, India's Largest Services Marketplace, Fetches $25 Million Series B". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
- ^ Russell, Jon (2018-11-30). "UrbanClap, India's largest home services startup, raises $50M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
- ^ Singh, Manish (2019-08-02). "UrbanClap, India's largest home services startup, raises $75M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
- ^ "Urban Company Raises USD 255 Million In Series F Funding". Urban Company. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
- ^ "Urban Company secures $50 mn funding from Dharana Capital". Business Line. 2024-07-18. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
- ^ "Urban Company punishes workers for user cancellations, blocks worker ID over poor rating". Business Today. 2023-06-15. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
- ^ Sil, Debarghya (2023-06-12). "Exclusive: Troubles Erupt For Urban Company As Beauticians Protest ID Bans". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
- ^ Singh, Rahul (15 June 2023). "'Minimum 4.7/5 rating required': Urban Company partners protest ID blocking". Hindustan Times.
- ^ "Urban Company's beauty segment workers stage demonstration in Bengaluru over ID blocking". Moneycontrol. 10 June 2024.
- ^ "Protesting Partners In Bangalore Upset From Urban Company". BW People. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
- ^ Pushkarna, Akshit (2024-06-10). "Women Gig Workers Protest At Urban Company's Bengaluru Office Over New Work Policy". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
- ^ Sood, Naina (27 June 2024). "Urban Company CEO Abhiraj Bhal defends policies amid gig worker protests". Moneycontrol.