Servifi, a startup that manages lifecycle tools for several major smartphone vendors, including Apple and Samsung, has raised $65 million as it looks to become a public company within two years.
Singularity Growth Opportunity Fund led the Series D funding round for the Mumbai-headquartered startup. AmTrust and family offices participated in the round, along with existing investors Iron Pillar, Beenext, Blume Ventures and DMI Sparkle Fund.
The round hasn’t closed and the startup said a few other investors are looking to back Servify. The current round is expected to raise another $5 million to $10 million.
The seven-year-old startup, which has raised over $110 million to date, works with more than 75 electronic device manufacturers, including OnePlus and Xiaomi, offering white-labeled after-sales services such as damage prevention and extended warranty. Partner organizations use Servify’s proprietary platform to deliver trading, upgrade and financing programs to customers.
Servifi, which operates in more than 40 countries including India, the US, the UK, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, plans to expand to Latin America this fiscal year and is exploring its first venture in Japan, according to founder and CEO Servatsa Prabhakar. Startup executive, in an interview.
India, the world’s second-largest smartphone market, accounts for 60% of Servifine’s business, he said.
Servifi — which currently focuses on smartphones, tablets, laptops and wearables — also plans to expand its coverage to serve home appliances and electric vehicles, he said.
In recent quarters, companies including Apple and Samsung have offered self-repair services to their customers. How do such programs affect Servive?
Prabhakar said self-repair programs by major manufacturers in the market will be a “positive” for Servifie as it will continue to charge them for providing parts under self-service repair. However, such programs can extend the life of their existing equipment, which may lead to fewer people entering the business and upgrading their options, he said.
Business view
Servifi, which has more than 700 employees worldwide, is currently on track to achieve annual revenue growth of more than $130 million, he said. The startup is working to become profitable from next month, he said.
Once it secures 18-20% profitability, Servif said it plans to make an initial public offering. The current IPO period is 18 months to two years, he said.
Servifi did not disclose the valuation at which it raised the new funds, but said the startup is “approaching unicorn status.” “To me, all these assessments are still paper values. When they come out to the public, their true values will be revealed,” he said.
Servify is looking to deploy its fresh cash to buy smaller firms. Since its funding round that closed in September 2020, Servifi has acquired two startups, including Noida-based 247Around. According to Prabhakar.
“We have two international targets in mind,” he said on condition of anonymity.
“Product protection is no longer an afterthought; in fact, it’s quickly taking center stage for both OEMs and consumers alike. So we see Servifi steadily moving towards global leadership in this huge market of over $100 billion, and we’re confident that they’ll deliver great results for all of us.” Apurva Patel, Managing Partner of Singularity Growth said in a statement.
