IndiaMART was launched in 1996 as a directory of the websites for customers in the Delhi-NCR region by two cousins Dinesh Agarwal and Brijesh Agrawal. At that time India had only 15,000 internet users. By 1999, the directory had more than 1000 listings.After overcoming the dot-com bust, in 2008–09 when the recession hit the US, the company decided to pivot the focus from export oriented business to India-focused B2B market and raised $10 million in Series A round funding from Intel Capital, a part of which was invested in IndiaMART, One97 Communications and Global Talent Track.In November 2014, IndiaMART started promotional campaigns featuring Indian film actor Irrfan Khan as its brand ambassador.In March 2016, it raised Series C Funding from Amadeus Capital Partners and Quona Capital to scale up the activities of IndiaMART and Tolexo.In 2016 and 2019, IndiaMART invested in ProcMart and Vyapar.In June 2018, IndiaMART filled draft papers with SEBI to raise ?600 crore through IPO and list on NSE and BSE. In June 2019, IndiaMART went public via an IPO of ?474 crore. The issue was oversubscribed by 36 times by the end of the final day of the bidding. IndiaMART became the first online B2B marketplace to go public in India, and the first company launch its IPO in the second tenure of Modi government.
