 "TaxiForSure to raise more funds for expansion")
TaxiForSure recently raised US$ 10 million (approx Rs 60 crore) in investments led by Silicon Valley investor Bessemer Venture Partners.
It already has Accel Partners, Helion Venture Partners and Blume Ventures as its existing investors, all of whom have participated in the latest investment round. Previously in June 2013 the company had raised US$ 4 million (approx Rs 24 crore in first round of institutional funding from its seed investors, Accel Partners, Helion Venture Partners and Blume Ventures.
The start-up founded by two alumni of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Aprameya Radhakrishna and Raghunandan G, today launched its operations in Ahmedabad which is their fifth city.
This will be followed by similar services in major cities of Gujarat including Rajkot, Vaddoara, Surat and Gandhinagar in the next 3-4 months time.
The company works on a so-called asset-light model and does not own cars, but work as aggregators.
It works with various taxi operators and enables them with technology support to get more customers.
The company charges 10 per cent commission from the driver for every fare in lieu of the business it provides him.
Commenting on the Ahmedabad launch, TaxiForSure co-founder and director, Aprameya Radhakrishna said, "TaxiForSure.com has a strong presence in the emerging cab rentals and taxi booking space and with a successful model already up and running in four cities, we are now looking to revolutionise the Ahmedabad taxi market. With our on-ground knowledge of the taxi industry across geographies and ability to scale operations at a rapid pace while ensuring customer service, we are confident of becoming the first choice for every user who wants to book a taxi in Ahmedabad."
Radhakrishna said that under its rapid expansion plans, TaxiForSure aims to establish itself in 20 cities by 2015. When asked if the capital raised till date was enough for its expansion plans across the country, he said,"We have enough funds as we recently raised US$ 10 million. But for expansion to 20 cities by 2015 funds are not enough we may have to raise more. But we will raise it at a later stage (of the expansion plan)." Radhakrishna, however, did not divulge how much more fund the company plans to raise.
On its target from Ahmedabad operations, the company co-founder said that they expected 5,000-6,000 transactions per day within the next year or so. TaxiForSure will be directly in competition in Ahmedabad with organised players like Meru Cabs, Chartered Cabs, Apple Cabs and Manan Cabs.
However, Radhakrishna, felt that their competitive pricing will give them an advantage. "Since we work on a asset-light model we do not own cabs which need space to park. All cabs are owned by their drivers. Further, our rate of Rs 12 per km is lowest in the city which will give us the advantage," he explained.