Stellaris-Backed BeepKart Shuts Operations Amid Funding Winter in India

The four-year journey that once promised to revolutionise India’s pre-owned two-wheeler business has come to an end with the closure of Bengaluru-based Beepkart.

According to a statement posted on the startup’s website, BeepKart is still totally dedicated to helping its current clients. We appreciate your participation in the BeepKart adventure. Currently, negotiations are underway for its creators to sell BeepKart’s tech stack and assets.

According to various news reports, they also want to give investors their money back. Hemir Doshi and Abhishek Saraf, the cofounders of BeepKart, did not reply to Inc42’s enquiries regarding the development. When a response is received, the story will be updated.

Closure of Chennai Plant & Layoffs

This follows many media stories stating that BeepKart has closed its Chennai operations and fired all of its employees there. The startup was also progressively closing its Bengaluru offices. At the time, a BeepKart representative had stated that the company was transitioning to an asset-light operating model.

The spokesman also stated that BeepKart had a “comfortable runway”, had “substantially” increased its profitability, and was negotiating an M&A deal with possible strategic investors. But such conversations never came to pass. Established in 2021, BeepKart has raised more than $18 million from well-known investors, including Innoven Capital, Stellaris Venture Partners, and Chiratae Ventures.

Why BeepKart Failed Despite Rising Revenues?

By providing consumers with inspection, refurbishment, financing, and warranties, the firm positioned itself as a full-stack platform for buying and selling old two-wheelers. Nevertheless, the business model suffered from high operational costs and narrow margins.

After raising money between 2022 and 2024, BeepKart expanded aggressively, opening several outlets in Bengaluru and Chennai; however, this strategy backfired. Numerous stores were positioned close to one another, which reduced each other’s clientele rather than broadening their reach.

Investor Backing & Aggressive Expansion

Despite a 165% YoY increase in revenue to INR 100 Cr in FY24, BeepKart’s loss doubled to INR 66 Cr. According to reports, the cost of refurbishment accounted for around 10% of car pricing, making it challenging to maintain profitability in a market where consumers are highly sensitive to price.

Uncertainty was increased by the startup’s recent run of high-level departures, which included the departures of its CTO and important business leaders. In the meantime, social media was inundated with complaints from its consumers regarding subpar after-sales services and vehicle condition.

Challenges in India’s Used Two-Wheeler Market

The demise of BeepKart joins an increasing number of failures in India’s second-hand two-wheeler market, where CredR and Cars24’s Moto have already ceased operations. Scaling has been very challenging due to a number of variables, including low margins, fragmented supply, and investor unwillingness to support operations-heavy models, even though the addressable market is huge.