On Demand Chauffeur Provider DriversKart Buys Mumbai Based Startup Driven

Chennai-based on-demand chauffeur provider DriversKart has acquired Mumbai-based startup Driven in an equity and cash deal. Post acquisition, DriversKart will become market leader in India's on-demand driver marketplace.

Get Driven Technologies owned DriversKart enables users to hire drivers on an hourly, weekly or monthly basis through its app. It was founded by serial entrepreneur Vinit Srivastava, former Jabong executive Lakshmi Potluri and former Cognizant executive Saksham Grover in 2015, serves 10,000 rides a month. The startup operates in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Chennai. It consists of 20 employees in its team. It aggregates drivers and agencies on its marketplace after verifying the antecedents of the drivers and training them and has strong presence in B2B and B2C segment.

DriversKart is the most preferred driver provider for self-drive car rental company Zoomcar, Justride, etc. and competes with the likes of DriveU, Zimmber and Driver Bulao.

Driven lets car owners find trained and verified drivers and chauffeurs around them, for all their driving needs. The startup charges Rs. 100/hr during the day or night. It was founded in 2015 by Shivalik Sen, Nikhil Tavora and Arun Gandhi.

"We get access to a team which was equally excited and passionate about this space and has had tremendous learnings in short span of time. It gives access to 150 driver partners servicing 1000 customers a month. The deal will strengthen the presence of DriversKart in Mumbai," said Vinit Srivastava, DriversKart's Co-founder.

On Demand Driver Solutions Provider DriversKart Raises Funding from ah! Ventures, Others

DriversKart, an innovative startup based out of Chennai, has closed an undisclosed amount of funding as a part of its Pre Series A round from ah! Ventures and others. In collaboration with ah! Ventures, this round was also led by Sidharth Pansari, Apurva Salarpuria, Saket Agarwal and Ayush Patni, Silicon Valley investors and was joined by Namit Agarwal.

DriversKart is accurately providing a much needed solution to a problem faced by commuting individuals. An on demand availability of drivers, be it for an occasional trip to the hospital or a daily necessity like office drop offs, DriversKart is delivering value to these growing demands in the market.

Started in September 2015, this organization is already operational in 5 major cities; Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Chennai and has a strong team of 20 employees. The operational model of DriversKart is simple, easy to use and is primarily dependent on its app, available on App store and Playstore.

An integral part of the offering, is their quality. With verified drivers and a strict filtering process, all the drivers available are trained not only in terms of their driving capabilities but also in terms of their behavioural conduct and etiquettes. Kopal Maheshwari, the Head of Operations at DriversKart, firmly believes that the uniqueness of the offering comes from the fact that it is for the first time that an on-demand chauffeur service in India, is in addition to all the available services, offers a unique subscription service as well. The team at DriversKart is backed by their strong experience in the entrepreneurial process and hence their focus on quality service takes precedence over anything else.

The key idea of DriversKart was coined by its Founder and currently the CEO, Vinit Srivastava, an IIM Calcutta alumnus with corporate and entrepreneurship experience of over 10 years. His firm belief in the concept of DriversKart, birthed from his thinking about experiencing and valuing one's time.

Commenting on the urgent need for a product like DriversKart, Vinit Srivastava says, "There exists a latent demand for organized chauffeurs even among professionals who commute to work. With car density per 1000 people at mere 13, the car ownership will continue to see exponential growth resulting in time lost during traffic and parking. With on demand chauffeur, customers will be able to dedicate their time to add more value to their personal and professional life." Vinit was joined by Saksham, an IIT Mandi alumnus, an expert in Mobility and currently the Chief Technical Officer at DriversKart

This strong team has been cautiously and consistently maintaining a structured approach to its growth and development. The current funds raised, will constructively be utilized for a threefold purpose of: 1. Technological Enhancements, 2. Enhanced Driver On-boarding/Training and 3. Marketing and Team building.

Giving an investor's perspective, Harshad Lahoti, Founder and CEO of ah! Ventures said, "DriversKart, has shown us a promising future, mainly because it aims to solve an inherent problem. Their ability to efficiently replicate the driver-on-demand model across cities will help them to aggressively expand pan-India. The team at DriversKart is well equipped in terms of the operational wherewithal and the entrepreneurial acumen necessary to successfully operate & scale this business. ah! Ventures and its investors believe in the team and we confidently see this venture becoming a pioneer in the industry."

ah! Ventures is India's first full-spectrum startup investment network and platform comprising of over 700+ investors, including some of the renowned angels and early-stage VCs. CLUB ah! platform today has over 8000+ startups, 625+ seed/angel investors and over 75 VCs & institutional investors, making it one of the largest platform of investors and startups. The network also last year secured its first profitable exit from Ed-tech venture Harness Handitouch within 2 years of its investment. CLUB ah! has till date invested close to Rs, 75 crores in over 23 startups spread across varied industries and domains, including DriversKart.

ah! Ventures is in the process of closing 2 more deals in the coming weeks.

On Demand Driver Solutions Provider DriversKart Raises Funding from ah! Ventures, Others

DriversKart, an innovative startup based out of Chennai, has closed an undisclosed amount of funding as a part of its Pre Series A round from ah! Ventures and others. In collaboration with ah! Ventures, this round was also led by Sidharth Pansari, Apurva Salarpuria, Saket Agarwal and Ayush Patni, Silicon Valley investors and was joined by Namit Agarwal.

DriversKart is accurately providing a much needed solution to a problem faced by commuting individuals. An on demand availability of drivers, be it for an occasional trip to the hospital or a daily necessity like office drop offs, DriversKart is delivering value to these growing demands in the market.

Started in September 2015, this organization is already operational in 5 major cities; Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Chennai and has a strong team of 20 employees. The operational model of DriversKart is simple, easy to use and is primarily dependent on its app, available on App store and Playstore.

An integral part of the offering, is their quality. With verified drivers and a strict filtering process, all the drivers available are trained not only in terms of their driving capabilities but also in terms of their behavioural conduct and etiquettes. Kopal Maheshwari, the Head of Operations at DriversKart, firmly believes that the uniqueness of the offering comes from the fact that it is for the first time that an on-demand chauffeur service in India, is in addition to all the available services, offers a unique subscription service as well. The team at DriversKart is backed by their strong experience in the entrepreneurial process and hence their focus on quality service takes precedence over anything else.

The key idea of DriversKart was coined by its Founder and currently the CEO, Vinit Srivastava, an IIM Calcutta alumnus with corporate and entrepreneurship experience of over 10 years. His firm belief in the concept of DriversKart, birthed from his thinking about experiencing and valuing one's time.

Commenting on the urgent need for a product like DriversKart, Vinit Srivastava says, "There exists a latent demand for organized chauffeurs even among professionals who commute to work. With car density per 1000 people at mere 13, the car ownership will continue to see exponential growth resulting in time lost during traffic and parking. With on demand chauffeur, customers will be able to dedicate their time to add more value to their personal and professional life." Vinit was joined by Saksham, an IIT Mandi alumnus, an expert in Mobility and currently the Chief Technical Officer at DriversKart

This strong team has been cautiously and consistently maintaining a structured approach to its growth and development. The current funds raised, will constructively be utilized for a threefold purpose of: 1. Technological Enhancements, 2. Enhanced Driver On-boarding/Training and 3. Marketing and Team building.

Giving an investor's perspective, Harshad Lahoti, Founder and CEO of ah! Ventures said, "DriversKart, has shown us a promising future, mainly because it aims to solve an inherent problem. Their ability to efficiently replicate the driver-on-demand model across cities will help them to aggressively expand pan-India. The team at DriversKart is well equipped in terms of the operational wherewithal and the entrepreneurial acumen necessary to successfully operate & scale this business. ah! Ventures and its investors believe in the team and we confidently see this venture becoming a pioneer in the industry."

ah! Ventures is India's first full-spectrum startup investment network and platform comprising of over 700+ investors, including some of the renowned angels and early-stage VCs. CLUB ah! platform today has over 8000+ startups, 625+ seed/angel investors and over 75 VCs & institutional investors, making it one of the largest platform of investors and startups. The network also last year secured its first profitable exit from Ed-tech venture Harness Handitouch within 2 years of its investment. CLUB ah! has till date invested close to Rs, 75 crores in over 23 startups spread across varied industries and domains, including DriversKart.

ah! Ventures is in the process of closing 2 more deals in the coming weeks.