Swedish caller-identification service Truecaller seeks to raise over $100 million in IPO
Written by Manish Singh
Truecaller, which operates an eponymous caller-identification service, said on Wednesday it is looking to raise $116 million in an initial public offering on Nasdaq Stockholm.
The 12-year-old Stockholm-headquartered firm, which counts India as its biggest market by users, is aiming for a valuation of about $3 billion in the IPO, according to earlier local media reports. The company said it plans to do its listing by fourth quarter of this year.
The firm, which has amassed 278 million monthly active users, has been working on its initial public offering for at least two years, according to TechCrunch’s past conversations with Truecaller co-founder and chief executive Alan Mamedi.
The firm counts Sequoia Capital and Atomico among its earlier investors. It has raised over $95 million over the years, according to Crunchbase. Six years ago, the firm engaged with some investors to raise an additional $100 million at a valuation of $1 billion, TechCrunch reported, but the deal never materialized.
“One of our objectives this year has been to prepare Truecaller for an IPO. Thanks to the strong feedback that we’ve received from potential investors, it feels very exciting to take the next step in this process.
A listing of Truecaller is not only a milestone for Nami [the other co-founder], myself and all of our employees who have contributed to building Truecaller to the fantastic platform that it is today, but also to the growing Swedish tech ecosystem,” he said in a statement Wednesday.
“Even though we are twelve years into our incredible journey, we believe that this is just the beginning and we have a clear strategy to continue to grow and develop our services and products. I look forward to welcoming existing and new shareholders on this journey.”
Truecaller’s service allows users to avoid spam calls by identifying the callers, and also filters similar texts. The service is popular in many parts of the world, but India, where everyone receives dozens of such calls each month, is Truecaller’s biggest market by users.
Even as Apple and Google have improved the caller ID feature in their mobile operating systems in recent years, and taken several other steps to curb spam calls, Truecaller’s offerings remain unmatched.
The firm — which reported an operating revenue of $57 million in 2020, up from $22 million in 2018 — has expanded to additional categories such as financial services in recent years in India.
Truecaller will be the latest public exit for Sequoia Capital India this year. The venture fund, the most prolific investor in Indian startups, has seen five exits this year including food delivery startup Zomato, and Indigo Paints.
“Truecaller has made communication smarter, safer and more efficient across the world. As smartphone usage increases globally, fraud and unwanted communication has followed, and Truecaller has turned into an indispensable platform for consumers and businesses.
With a clear focus on innovation and growth, Truecaller is on an exciting journey to reach even more users with even better products,” said Shailesh Lakhani, Managing Director at Sequoia Capital India, in a statement.
