The new funding round will see the startup’s founder pump in $700 million while another $800 million will come from existing investors.

On Monday, SoftBank Group Corp-backed Indian hospitality startup Oyo stated, it aims to raise $1.5 billion in a new funding round led by Ritesh Agarwal, its founder and other existing investors.

In a statement, Oyo stated, Agarwal aims to pump in $700 million into the Gurugram-based startup through his company RA Hospitality Holdings; the balance $800 million will come from other existing investors.

The new funding round comes after Agarwal, 25, took out a $2 billion loan in July 2019 in order to buyback the company’s shares; the deal saw the startup’s valuation soar to $10 billion.

According to Oyo, Agarwal’s “share in this round will come from the money he raised then”.