Sujeet Kumar co-founded Udaan after building Flipkart's Ekart logistics network, creating one of India's largest B2B e-commerce platforms.
Sujeet Kumar co-founded Udaan, India’s leading B2B e-commerce platform, leveraging his Flipkart logistics experience to transform wholesale trade for millions of businesses.
Written by TFN Research Desk | startups, technology, venture capital, business strategy.
Table of Contents
- Who is Sujeet Kumar?
- Early Life and Education
- Career Before Udaan
- How Udaan Started
- Funding History
- Revenue Growth and Recent Challenges
- Udaan vs Competitors
- Investor Perspective
- Founder Timeline
- Key Takeaways
- FAQs
- Sources
Who is Sujeet Kumar?
Sujeet Kumar is the co-founder of Udaan, one of India’s largest B2B e-commerce platforms connecting manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. Before Udaan, he spent years at Flipkart as President of Operations, building the Ekart logistics network from scratch. Known for a low-key style, Kumar says he draws motivation from solving scale problems, not public recognition. He also serves as Founder and Trustee of Plaksha University.
Early Life and Education
Kumar grew up in Bhabua, a small town in Bihar, and has spoken about how modest his hometown was compared to the hundreds of cities Flipkart’s logistics network reached. He studied Civil Engineering at IIT Delhi. Before joining Flipkart, he attempted the UPSC civil services exam twice without success, an experience he has referenced candidly as part of his early career uncertainty.
Career Before Udaan
Kumar joined Flipkart in its earliest days, when the company was still a proprietorship taking orders for a handful of books daily. He spent over a decade there, first handling supply chain and category management, then building Ekart, Flipkart’s in-house logistics arm, starting in 2010. That experience taught him how deeply operations determine e-commerce success, a lesson he carried directly into Udaan’s design. He left Flipkart in 2016.
How Udaan Started
Kumar co-founded Udaan in late 2016 alongside fellow Flipkart alumni Amod Malviya, the company’s former CTO, and Vaibhav Gupta, a former senior finance and strategy executive. The trio noticed India’s business-to-business trade remained largely offline despite the consumer e-commerce boom. Udaan launched in beta in late 2016 alongside a $10 million Series A raise, opening more widely in June 2017. Kumar has said the founders’ Flipkart experience let them build supply chain processes quickly, attracting former colleagues to join early. Udaan reached unicorn status in 2018, just 26 months after founding.
Funding History
| Round | Year | Amount | Lead Investor(s) |
| Series A | 2016 | $10M | Lightspeed Venture Partners |
| Series C | 2018 | $225M | Lightspeed, DST Global |
| Series D | 2019 | $585M | Tencent, DST Global |
| Series E | 2023 | $340M | Not publicly disclosed |
Per Tracxn, Udaan has raised $1.99 billion across 18 rounds from 69 investors, peaking near $3.2 billion in valuation before dropping to about $1.3 billion by 2024.
Revenue Growth and Recent Challenges
| Fiscal Year | Revenue (Rs Crore) | Net Loss (Rs Crore) |
| FY 2023 | 5,609 | 2,076 |
| FY 2024 | 5,707 | 1,674 |
Revenue fell sharply as Udaan pulled back from unprofitable growth toward cost discipline after 2022. Losses have narrowed since, driven by cuts to logistics and staffing, though revenue stayed nearly flat in FY24, and the company has carried out multiple layoff rounds since 2022.
Udaan vs Competitors
| Brand | Founded | Latest Revenue (approx.) | Positioning |
| Udaan | 2016 | Rs 5,707 Cr (FY24) | Broad multi-category B2B marketplace with credit and logistics |
| ElasticRun | 2016 | Approx. Rs 2,400 Cr (FY24) | Rural-focused, asset-light FMCG distribution |
Udaan retains category breadth across 900-plus cities, but faces well-funded rivals like JioMart and Amazon Business that can subsidize losses longer.
Investor Perspective
Kumar’s credibility rests on his hands-on record building Flipkart’s logistics backbone, directly relevant to Udaan’s supply chain-heavy model. Strengths include first-mover scale and deep category coverage. Risks include thin B2B margins, intensifying competition from cash-rich conglomerates, and a valuation that has more than halved since 2021. Stabilized unit economics could support an eventual IPO or credit-business expansion.
Founder Timeline
- 2004 — Joins Flipkart’s early team
- 2010 — Builds Ekart, Flipkart’s logistics arm
- 2016 — Leaves Flipkart; co-founds Udaan
- 2018 — Udaan reaches unicorn status
- 2023 — Layoffs amid profitability push
- 2024 — Losses narrow 19% year-on-year
Key Takeaways
- Operational depth from Flipkart translated directly into Udaan’s supply chain advantage.
- Founder-led logistics expertise is a real moat, but not immune to well-funded rivals.
FAQs
Who founded Udaan? Sujeet Kumar, Amod Malviya, and Vaibhav Gupta, in 2016.
Funding raised? About $1.99 billion across 18 rounds, per Tracxn.
Is Udaan profitable? Not yet; losses narrowed to Rs 1,674 crore in FY24 from Rs 2,076 crore in FY23.
Net worth? Not publicly disclosed.
Main investors? Lightspeed, DST Global, Tencent, GGV Capital.
Sources
- BusinessToday — Sujeet Kumar recollects early Flipkart days
- Plaksha University — Sujeet Kumar profile
- Tracxn — Udaan Funding Rounds & Investors
- Inc42 — Udaan’s revenue drops 43% in FY23
- Entrackr — Udaan’s losses down 19% in FY24
© The Founder Nation | All rights reserved | Written by TFN Research Desk
