US-based Sequoia Capital has invested $8 million (about Rs 48 crore) in Self-drive car sharing company Zoomcar. Several new investors, including former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai and Manipal Group's head of corporate affairs Abhay Jain, participated in the round.
Many of the company's early backers, such as angel investors Empire Angels, FundersClub and Basset Investment Group, and funds advised by Triangle Growth Partners, also raised their stake in this round.
The deal is the latest sign of investors' growing appetite for startups focused on urban transportation needs, including online taxi booking, in emerging markets.
Zoomcar said it will invest the funds in technology, hiring and for launch in new cities over the next one year.
The company has built its paperwork, payments and identification process online. Zoom, which claims to be doubling revenue every quarter, will also expand its fleet to more than 1,500 cars in one year. "Self-drive car business is in nascent stage in India," said Jaspal Singh, co-founder of Valoriser Consultants, which provides market research services for transportation companies.
Zoomcar's charges range from 60 rupees ($0.98 cents) an hour to drive a Honda Motor Co. Amaze compact to about 30,000 rupees for a BMW AG 3 series luxury car for a week.
Zoomcar also claimed that it has grown to 250 cars at more than 40 locations, from seven cars when it launched in Bangalore city only. The company says it plans to use the funds to expand operations to other cities including New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Goa.
Notably, in an another online car rental funding related news SoftBank Corp. this week said it will invest $210 million into Ola Cabs, which operates a digital taxi-hailing service in 19 Indian cities.
Advertisements