Indian auto insurance technology startup listed on Nasdaq

Washington, Sep 22 (PTI): Indian startup Roadzen, which has emerged as a major global auto insurance technology company powered by artificial intelligence (AI), has been listed on Nasda.

By : PTI | Updated at : 22 Sep 2023 04:17 AM (IST)

Washington, Sep 22 (PTI): Indian startup Roadzen, which has emerged as a major global auto insurance technology company powered by artificial intelligence (AI), has been listed on Nasdaq.

The company made its debut on Nasdaq on Thursday, with its ordinary shares trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "RDZN" and its warrants trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol "RDZNW".

The company will ring the closing bell at Nasdaq in New York City on September 22, 2023.

Built in India with a global vision, Roadzen has achieved a significant milestone by securing a pre-money equity value of USD 683 million, a media release said.

"Going public is a pivotal moment in Roadzen's journey, yet it's merely one milestone in our mission to deliver simpler, smarter and safer insurance to drivers globally.

"We're incredibly excited about the transformative potential of AI in reshaping the USD 800 billion auto insurance market and are going to be unwavering in our focus to build Roadzen as the leader at the intersection of AI, mobility and insurance," another release quoted Roadzen CEO Rohan Malhotra as saying.

Ahead of the listing, Malhotra told PTI that it is a great moment for India and he hopes that Indian companies will dominate global markets.

"Roadzen is one of the few players who can build technology companies that can be competitive with Facebook, Google and Meta of the world and build really big outcomes for global markets," he said.

"We think that companies from India should build products for the world and Roadzen is one of them.

"So, we want to not just build for India in India, we also want to build in India for the world and give this talent an opportunity to develop the most innovative AI technology, compete with players across the world and deploy this technology in the US, the UK, Europe and mature global markets," Malhotra said in response to a question.

Roadzen has partnered with global automotive players, including Mercedes, Audi, Volvo-Eicher, Mitsubishi, Skoda, Seat, Renault, and Dacia, major insurers such as Axa, Societe Generale, and Arch, and fleet companies such as CJ Darcl.

Responding to a question, Malhotra said he believes the government should never be the major player in any ecosystem because if you rely on the government, innovation gets stifled.

"I think the government should do a good job in maintaining economic growth and macro policy. But towards startups, I think they've already done a pretty good job," he said.

"India is probably the third largest startup ecosystem now and the world's most major global companies are moving to India, whether for technology or hardware. But I don't see the government being the major driver of the software technology world in which we operate," he said.

"However, there is a major area of connected car development and hardware development for cars, including chips and sensors, where I think there's a lot of innovation to come and that India could be a substantial player because there are 1.5 billion vehicles on the road," he added.

In one of its releases, Roadzen announced that it has completed its previously announced business combination with Vahanna Tech Edge Acquisition I Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, which was approved at the extraordinary general meeting of Vahanna shareholders on August 25.

The combined company will operate under the name Roadzen Inc. and its ordinary shares and warrants are expected to commence trading on Nasdaq starting Thursday. PTI LKJ DIV DIV

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