Servify, a startup that manages equipment maintenance and powers after-sales experiences for various device manufacturers and smartphone vendors across multiple markets, has raised $65 million (about INR 520 crore) in a round led by the Singularity Growth Opportunity Fund.
The startup received this funding at a valuation of just under $1 billion. Strategic investors such as US insurance holdings AmTrust, family offices such as Fevicol-maker Pidilite, and current investors such as Iron Pillar, Beenext, Blume Ventures, and DMI Sparkle Fund also contributed in the round.
Apart from scouting for acquisition opportunities, the company intends to use the funds to expand its products, scale its technology platform, and grow its business in global markets. Shreevatsa Prabhakar, the company’s founder, stated that if the investors had not imposed some problematic conditions, Servify would have achieved ‘unicorn’ status only after this round.
“We are not somebody who’s valuation hungry since we want to build a really strong business. One thing I can tell you is we will go public in about 18 to 24 months; we are doing everything required to go public. Let the markets decide the valuation rather than any private investor,” Prabhakar said.
Servify, founded in 2015 by Prabhakar, works with several global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Apple, Samsung, OnePlus, and Xiaomi to manage their after-sales product care programs, which include providing extended warranty coverage. It also powers such brands’ innovative exchange and upgrade programs.
The startup has partnered with over 75 brands
In addition to consumer electronics manufacturers, the startup claims to have partnerships with over 75 brands, including retailers, distributors, insurers, financial institutions, product liquidators, service providers, and carriers.
Servify recently expanded its platform to enable more affordable purchases by combining no-cost EMI, card-linked offers, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), and instant discounts. Prabhakar stated that this aggregation model was being tested in over 200 Apple-authorized reseller stores in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Nagpur.
“We will run this pilot for another three to four months. Once we learn all the market nuances, then we will probably scale across all the outlets where we are present,” he said.
Servify claims to have a distribution presence in over 50,000 locations.
On the other hand, Prabhakar stated that the firm was not taking any risks on its books. “The idea is to provide a single platform where everything from digital customer KYC to lending decisions to underwriting will happen digitally,” he explained.
The move would also allow the company to bring in new lenders who do not have a retail distribution presence to plug into their platform and participate in the lending play, he said.
The aggregation model would enable Servify to expand its capabilities across the entire product lifecycle, from assisting customers in purchasing a product to helping them use it for a more extended period and then enabling an upgrade or exchange, according to Prabhakar.
“We are building a massive global business from India that is already at an annual revenue run rate of over $130 million and is on the verge of turning profitable,” Prabhakar said.
The startup aims at building global
Servify is concentrating its efforts on global expansion. According to Prabhakar, international markets contributed 40 percent of the company’s revenue, which they expect to double to 80 percent in the next two years. “International markets will grow faster than India because those are mature markets, your ticket sizes are big, and the profit margins are better,” he said.
According to Servify, it is increasingly popular in North America, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries. It is in approximately 40 countries and employs over 700 people worldwide.
“Product protection is no longer an afterthought; in fact, it is rapidly taking center stage for both OEMs and consumers. We, therefore, see Servify steadily moving towards global leadership in this massive addressable market of over $100 billion,” said Apurva Patel, Managing Partner, Singularity Growth.
