Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce player Udaan has secured $340 million (Rs 2,822 crore) in a series E funding round led by London-based global investment manager M&G Plc.

Udaan’s existing investors Lightspeed and DST Global also participated in the funding round.

The company will utilise the funds to strengthen customer experience and market penetration, forge strategic vendor partnerships, and reinforce supply-chain, and credit capabilities.

Commenting on the funding, Vaibhav Gupta, co-founder CEO of Udaan in a statement said, “The Series E round strengthens our balance sheet and fully funds our business plan. It enables our continued journey of growth and profitability, positioning us well to be public-market ready in the next 12-18 months.”

Niranjan Sirdeshpande, director (EMEA) at M&G Catalyst added, “We believe it (Udaan) has the right operational platform to be the trusted partner of scale to small businesses across India by empowering them with technology, financial inclusivity, and supply chain capabilities. Our investment strategy aligns with Udaan’s ambition to simplify and increase efficiency in a congested B2B market.”

Founded in 2016 by former Flipkart executives Sujeet Kumar, Amod Malviya, and Vaibhav Gupta, Udaan is a B2B ecommerce platform with over 3 million retailers listed across categories.