Urban Company is stepping up its investment in InstaHelp, positioning the high-frequency home services offering as a strategic growth engine even as it maintains a strong balance sheet and profitable core operations.
Speaking during the company’s Q1 FY27 earnings conference call, Abhiraj Singh Bhal, CEO & Co-founder, Urban Company, said the company views InstaHelp as a long-term strategic investment rather than a standalone business, with the addressable market in India’s top 15 cities estimated at ₹7,000 crore to ₹12,000 crore in annual Net Transaction Value (NTV).
In parallel, Urban Company announced that InstaHelp crossed 100,000 delivered orders in a single day on Sunday, August 2, 2026. The 100,000 delivered orders figure was reached as of 5:54 pm on Sunday, Aug 2, 2026. The actual number of delivered orders for the day will end up being higher.
High-frequency engagement
Bhal said InstaHelp has the potential to transform customer engagement by increasing the frequency with which consumers interact with the Urban Company platform.
Unlike traditional home services, which are typically booked monthly or quarterly, InstaHelp enables weekly interactions, helping the company build stronger customer relationships and create a durable competitive advantage.
“We think InstaHelp is strategically very relevant to our platform. It is a high-frequency category that allows us to enter the home on a weekly basis rather than a monthly or quarterly basis,” he said.
According to Bhal, the investment should be viewed in the broader context of strengthening the overall platform rather than purely through the lens of returns from the category itself.
Investments to continue
Urban Company expects InstaHelp to remain the primary investment area over the next two years, with capital allocation being reviewed every quarter based on market dynamics, competitive intensity and the size of the opportunity.
The company said it would continue investing aggressively to establish leadership in the category while maintaining financial discipline across the broader business.
Core business to remain cash generator
Bhal said Urban Company’s India consumer services business will continue generating cash while delivering sustainable growth and gradual margin improvement.
Rather than maximising short-term profitability, the company intends to balance growth with disciplined execution and steady improvements in operating margins.
International operations in the UAE and Singapore are already profitable and are expected to continue contributing positively while pursuing aggressive growth. The joint venture in Saudi Arabia is also growing rapidly, with management expecting it to turn profitable in the coming quarters.
Urban Company’s Native business has also shown strong growth and improving margins, with profitability now within sight over the next few quarters, requiring only limited incremental investment.
No new international markets for now
Despite strong international momentum, Urban Company has ruled out entering new geographies in the near term.
Bhal said management bandwidth is better utilised in scaling the significant opportunities available in India, the UAE, Singapore and Saudi Arabia, rather than expanding into additional markets.
He noted that the company’s international business recorded 76% year-on-year growth in NTV terms, or 58% excluding currency impact, highlighting the sizeable runway still available in existing markets.
Bhal also pointed to Urban Company’s earlier experiences in markets such as Australia and the US, where expansion before and around the COVID-19 pandemic failed to gain the desired traction.
Learning from those experiences, the company has concluded that success in new markets requires more than execution, including customised strategies, favourable timing and supportive market conditions.
For the next few years, Urban Company plans to remain sharply focused on strengthening its leadership in its existing markets while continuing to invest in high-growth opportunities such as InstaHelp.