The popularity of self-drive rental cars is rising in India and with that several startups like Zoomcar and Drivezy have managed to establish themselves in the market. However, with rising popularity, the competition also increases. This leads to companies spending more to keep growing in the market.
In a similar development, Zoomcar, a Bangalore-based startup which is one of the leading self-drive rental car platform, has bagged $30 million in the first tranche of its on-going Series D funding round, which the company will close after it secures $100 million.
The funding in this latest round was led by Japan-based Sony Innovation Fund, along with the participation of few of the company’s existing investors. The investment comes more than a year after its $40 million funding round in February 2018.
Zoomcar says that this new capital will be used for growth, enhancing technological and data science infrastructure, along with upgrading its Internet of Things (IoT) layout and the shared subscription service.
The startup is now also planning to expand its operations to more parts of the country and aims to have a fleet of more than one lakh vehicles on the road within next two years. This investment comes at a time when the company is reportedly in talks to acquire its competitor Revv in a share-swap deal.
Zoomcar was launched by duo Greg Moran and David Back back in 2013 with an aim to organise India’s massively scattered car rental business through its desktop and mobile platform. The startup is currently operating in around 45 cities with a fleet of 10,000 cars.
Sony Innovation Fund usually invests in seed, early and mid-stage funding rounds and is focused on entertainment and gaming, lifestyle health and wellness, industry and manufacturing, AI and machine learning, as well as next-generation devices.
