 "Paytm leads $10-mn funding")
Online mobile wallet major Paytm has led the Series-B round of funding for on-demand auto-rickshaw aggregator, Jugnoo, for $10 million (Rs 66.65 crore).
Last October, Chandigarh-based Jugnoo had received funding of $10 million from the Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led company. This is the Series-B2 round of investment in the company.
"The auto-rickshaw hailing and hyperlocal delivery mobile app receives $5 million from Paytm and the remaining from existing investor Snow Leopard and a new one named Rocketship.vc. At present, the auto-rickshaw aggregator and hyperlocal delivery service provider operates in 30 cities and 11 villages across the country," Paytm said. Jugnoo plans to spend the money on its expansion plans and also invest on providing more benefits to auto-rickshaw drivers so that they stick with the company.
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"We have been receiving a phenomenal response from drivers who are now readily adopting technology as a means of increasing their daily earnings. We will invest these funds in improving our driver efficiency and increasing our numbers in cities where we are currently in the growing phase. And with the kind of impact we have been able to make at the grass roots, I am sure we have a long way to go," said Samar Singla, chief executive officer and co-founder, Jugnoo.
The company currently has a network of around 10,000 auto-rickshaw drivers across the country which is growing at a steady rate. They also have women auto drivers in Nagpur, Ahmedabad and Noida.
According to industry numbers, in 2016 year-to-date (YTD), there have been 22 venture capital (VC) funding rounds in India's internet market, of which only five rounds have been Series-A/B.
"The rest have been either seed/venture stage or big-ticket late-stage funding rounds in more established companies. There were no Series-A/B rounds in the month of March. The quantum of money that has flowed in YTD still remains strong at a billion dollars, helped by large $100-million plus funding rounds, each for CarTrade, Shopclues, Snapdeal and Bigbasket," Morgan Stanley said in a recent report.
"Jugnoo's auto hailing service has picked up phenomenally well and they are witnessing incredible growth month-on-month basis. With further infusion of funds, Jugnoo will be equipped to scale up its operations across the country and Paytm is happy to be a part of its growth story," Kiran Vasireddy, senior vice-president, Paytm, said.
