Indian-based hospitality startup OYO has started early preparations for its potential IPO, as it has started rounding up funding from various global institutions.
The latest in the line is Global Technology giant Microsoft which is about to make a strategic investment in the Indian hotel-chain firm.
The size of the investment isn't ascertained yet.
However, the fund shall help OYO prepare and gear up for its initial public offering.
As for Microsoft, this isn't the first time it has invested in an Indian-based startup. Its previous investments have been in Indian e-commerce platform Flipkart, news aggregator Dailyhunt, etc.
But OYO with a valuation of $9 billion has already been backed by institutions like Chinese ride-hailing firm DIDI Chuxing, South-East Asian firm Grab, and US-based hospitality firm Airbnb.
It's interesting to note that one of OYO's major investors is Softbank, which has invested around $1.5 billion in the firm.
From an Indian perspective, the fact that foreign institutions are readily investing in Indian-based startups shall prove fruitful for the Indian economy in the long run.
As it is, OYO which was one of the most vulnerable targets to the Covid-induced Pandemic suffered terribly in the Covid-crisis.
However, the operations have resumed reaching multitudes in countries and regions where the Covid-vaccinations rate is higher than average.
It seems safe to say that investors backing OYO right now shall greatly benefit from the investment in the near future.
Currently, OYO has around 100,000 hotel partners spread over 80 countries. As soon as the travel market resumes correction, the company's value in the hospitality space is also expected to boost up.
Thank you for Reading!