Fidelity Investments Marks Down Gupshup’s Valuation to $700 Million
- ByStartupStory | August 1, 2023
Fidelity Investments, a prominent US-based Asset Management Company (AMC), has recently marked down the fair value of Gupshup, a conversational messaging unicorn, to approximately $700 million. This markdown comes after Fidelity acquired a stake in Gupshup in August 2021 for around $16 million. As of June 2023, Fidelity’s valuation of Gupshup has dropped to just over $8 million, significantly lower than its previous valuation of $1.4 billion.
Interestingly, this is the third time in five months that Fidelity has marked down Gupshup’s value. In March, the AI platform used for business communications was removed from the unicorn club and valued at $957 million. In May, Fidelity further reduced its value to $887 million. These repeated markdowns reflect how investors are reevaluating Indian startups in terms of their valuation amidst a challenging funding climate. Some industry experts have cautioned against overestimating India’s internet market, a sentiment shared by startup founders and seasoned investors alike.
Apart from Gupshup, other Indian unicorns like Eruditus, Byju’s, Swiggy, Pine Labs, and Pharmeasy have also experienced markdowns in their fair values by US-based AMCs such as Baron Capital and Private Shares Fund, in addition to Fidelity.
It’s important to note that such adjustments in fair values are typically based on the AMC’s internal assessments of the macro and microenvironments and do not necessarily imply a permanent reduction in the startup’s overall valuation.
Gupshup, founded by Beerud Sheth nearly two decades ago, serves over 45,000 businesses in various verticals, including BFSI, e-commerce, retail, travel, tech, and healthcare. The company’s customers are spread across India, Latin America, Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the United States.
Earlier this year, Gupshup introduced a new artificial intelligence-powered tool utilizing OpenAI’s GPT-3 technology, enabling enterprises to build advanced conversational chatbots.
Follow Startup Story
Related Posts
