Bengaluru-based Apna, a professional networking and jobs platform, on Tuesday announced that it has raised $70 million in a Series B funding round led by Insight Partners and Tiger Global at a valuation of $570 million.
Existing investors Sequoia Capital India, Lightspeed India, Greenoaks Capital and Rocketship VC also participated in the round, the startup said in a statement.
Founded in 2019, Apna has raised over $90 million to date.
Its app allows users to access local job opportunities, network with peers, practise for interviews, share their accomplishments, and gain new skills. Currently, it hosts over 60 communities for skilled professionals such as carpenters, painters and field sales agents.
Apna said that it will use the proceeds from its latest funding round to strengthen its presence in India, hire new talent, build engineering and product capabilities, and expand to international markets such as Southeast Asia and the United States.
“At Apna, we are determined to take a fresh approach towards solving employment and skilling challenges for billions. Over the last month itself, Apna has facilitated more than 15 million job interviews and work-related conversations where users have helped each other to start a business, find a gig or learn a new skill. We are still in the early stages of solving the problem and are excited to continue on this journey with the backing of our new partners,” Apna founder and CEO Nirmit Parikh said in a statement.
Apna claims to have catered to more than 10 million users and 100,000 employers since its launch. Over the last three months, it has doubled the number of Indian cities in which it is present to 14.
The company had raised $12.5 million in a round led by Sequoia Capital India and Greenoaks Capital in March this year. Existing investors Lightspeed India and Rocketship.vc had also participated in that round.
The company raised $8 million in a Series A round in September 2020.