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DriveU closes investment led by Dr. Amit Singhal and other Silicon Valley angels

Written by Capria Admin
March 27, 2018

27 March 2018, Bengaluru. DriveU, India’s first and the largest on-demand driver aggregator completed the first closing of its Pre-Series “A” funding of ₹20 Crore (USD 3 Million), led by Dr. Amit Singhal of Singhal Foundation. Current investors including Unitus Ventures participated in the round.

DriveU offers a reliable, transparent, on-demand background-verified driver service to its customers for local and outstation travel. DriveU focused on and delivered positive unit economics while serving over 3.5 Lakh trips since inception. Over the past year, DriveU incrementally improved its gross profit margins at the same time managing to increase driver earnings. With this funding, DriveU further strengthens its position to better serve both consumers and businesses across India’s six largest metro cities – Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Pune and Hyderabad – and beyond.

DriveU has demonstrated a deep commitment to enabling good wages for numerous under-privileged individuals. Their business is growing at a strong pace, while maintaining positive unit economics, which is key to building a successful company. Impressed by their execution, I have personally decided to lead a round of investment and help them scale,” remarked Dr. Amit Singhal, Founder of Singhal Foundation

Singhal Foundation provides best-in-class education for the under privileged children of India. Prior to heading the Singhal Foundation, Dr. Singhal was the Senior Vice President for Search at Google, Inc.

“As the first VC investor into DriveU, Unitus is a big supporter of their app-based driver on demand solution for India’s ever-increasing number of private car owners. As an impact investor, we see DriveU’s focus on delivering living wages to drivers as being great for the drivers and great for their business. While most taxi drivers struggle to make ends meet, DriveU’s full-time drivers take home up to 40 thousand rupees each month to provide for their families,” says Will Poole, Managing Partner & Co-Founder at Unitus Ventures.

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“I am pleased that Mr. Singhal sees the unique value that DriveU offers to its stakeholders – be it drivers, consumers, businesses, and investors. DriveU, having grown at 16% month-over-month since inception has recently witnessed accelerated growth. The funds will allow us to further expand our reach and offerings to our customers,” says Rahm Shastry, CEO & Co-Founder at DriveU.

A typical DriveU consumer spends thrice or more than what they would otherwise spend on a cab ride. This translates into a healthy income for its drivers. A typical full-time DriveU driver can earn a steady monthly income of ₹ 25,000 – ₹ 30,000, while some earn in excess of ₹ 40,000. At the same time, DriveU eliminates the burden of EMI payments, fuels bills and vehicle maintenance for the drivers. Today, DriveU has over 6,000 background verified drivers on its platform. The cross utilization of drivers between its B2B and B2C lines of businesses optimizes DriveU operations and guarantee higher earnings for its drivers.

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In February 2016, Unitus Ventures, India’s leading impact seed investor, led $1M seed investment round in DriveU. Subsequent investment from Unitus and now from Mr. Amit Singhal and other Silicon Valley angels has provided DriveU the financial backing required to get to anticipated cash flow break-even in 2019.

About DriveU

Capria - DriveU 300x300DriveU is India’s first and the fastest growing on-demand private driver service. Founded in July 2015, DriveU has experienced phenomenal growth. With over 6,000 drivers in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Pune and Hyderabad. DriveU plans to field 10,000 drivers by the end of 2018.

DriveU has served over 350,000 trips to over 100,000 customers and 40 businesses. The DriveU App is available on Android and iOS-based mobile devices and offers a seamless mobile booking, tracking and payment platform. Customer can also book a driver online at www.driveu.in or via phone at 88807.12345.

DriveU offers curated drivers for personal vehicles, by implementing the best practices in technology, driver verification, training methods and on-road commute experience. The hallmark of DriveU model is a simple, transparent, pay-as-you-go charge of ₹ 99 per hour – anytime, anywhere within the city limits. After the first hour, consumers pay only for the number of minutes they utilize for the service. There is a one-way surcharge depending on distance traveled, which varies between ₹ 50/- and ₹ 150/- and a night-time surcharge of ₹ 200/- for trips ending between 11PM and 6AM. DriveU also offers discounted, Package pricing for 4, 6, 8 and 12-hours. DriveU Outstation service is priced at ₹ 999/- for the first 24 hours, and ₹ 499/- per 12-hour blocks thereafter. For more information about DriveU, please visit www.driveu.in

Media Desk: 

Madhushri Verma  +91 81471 61292
[email protected]

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