Mobility startups in the Indian market have been getting investors’ attention and in line with that, it is being reported by ET that Japan-based two-wheeler giant Yamaha is in advanced talks to invest in Drivezy.
As per the report, Yamaha could invest in the Bangalore-based startup’s new $35 million Series C funding round from its own balance sheet. This is notable given that Yamaha is already an investor in Drivezy through its VC arm Innovation and Mobility Fund.
Drivezy has so far raised $28 million in equity funding from Das Capital, Bain Capital, Accent Equity Partners and IT-Farm Corp. Further, the company has also secured $100 million in asset financing from AnyPay for building its vehicle fleet. Thus, the company has secured $128 million in total funding so far.
The startup was founded in the year 2015 by Ashwarya Singh, Amit Sahu, Abhishek Mahajan and Vasant Verma. The company, which was formerly known as JustRide, claims to be the largest mobility platform in India with 110,000-120,000 rides a month.
Currently, Drivezy operates in 11 cities across India, including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad. Last year, it also started operations in San Francisco. The company had previously revealed that it operates 17,000 two-wheelers and 4,000 four-wheelers.
Drivezy competes against the likes of Bounce which recently secured $105 million in its Series D funding round led by B Capital and Accel Partners to expand its operations. Another major competitor for Drivezy is Vogo which has reportedly raised $35 million last month, led by Aspada.
