Just months before its planned listing, Oyo, the budget-hospitality startup, has seen the departure of two of its senior executives. Ankit Gupta, who had been with the unicorn startup since 2019 and served as its India CEO, and Mandar Vaidya, who led the European business division, have both exited the company. An Oyo spokesperson clarified that these departures occurred six months ago.
These high-level exits coincide with Oyo’s multiple postponements of its listing, owing to ongoing market conditions. Currently, the company is scheduled to proceed with its listing later this year. Initially, Oyo filed for an IPO in October 2021, with aspirations to raise up to $1.6 billion at a valuation of approximately $12 billion. However, the company has since adjusted its plans, aiming for a listing in November with a target raise of around $600 million.
These departures are the latest in a series of challenging developments for Oyo, which was once valued at $10 billion. SoftBank, Oyo’s largest investor, devalued its stake in the startup last year, resulting in a valuation of $2.7 billion.
Indian media outlet The Arc initially reported on these executive departures. Over the years, Oyo has amassed $3.23 billion in funding through a combination of equity (primary and secondary) and debt rounds, according to the insight platform Tracxn.
In response to these departures, Oyo has announced that Varun Jain will take on the role of COO for Oyo India, while Gautam Swaroop will assume the position of CEO for Oyo Vacation Homes, filling the vacancies left by Gupta and Vaidya.
