Droom, an online transactional market place for used automobiles, has garnered a whooping amount of Rs. 100 crores in 'Series A' funding from venture capitalist firm Lightbox.
Launched in November 2014, the company has witnessed monumental growth in just six months.
"Recent investment from Lightbox and our other existing major investors will allow us to take on the automobile industry at a scale which has not been achieved so far by anyone," said Sandeep Aggarwal, the founder and CEO of Droom, while talking about the funding.
Aggarwal said that although India is the third largest market for automobiles in the world, the per capita consumption is very low.
According to Droom's research, only five percent of households own a car while 24 percent own a two-wheeler in the country.
"Indian automobile industry is worth 125 billion dollars. But when it comes to online transactions, the penetration is only half a percent of the overall industry," he said.
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The founder and CEO of Droom further said the consumer's trust and high pricing of the automobiles hinder many from making a transaction online. He is, however, optimistic that the trend will change in coming years.
"By 2020, 10 percent of auto industry is expected to be online," he said.
Droom offers a wide spectrum of automobiles, starting from two-wheelers and Tata Nano to Lamborghinis. Currently, the company operates in 13 different automobile categories including auto services with 1,000 sellers and 6,000 listings.
An Android, iOS is available alongside the traditional website. Droom has already seen over 3,000 successful transactions.
With the new investment, Droom will be expanding operations to add 20 automobile and 12 service categories hosting over 50,000 sellers and two lakh listings in the next 18 to 24 months.
"We are aiming for category expansion and better technology for marketplace platform with the funding. Plus, we also intend to go global in countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, US etc by next year," he added.
From a meager earning of Rs. five lakhs in January 2015 to earning Rs. 13 crores by June 2015, the company is growing fast.
"We grew almost 250 times in a matter of few months," said Sandeep.
The automobile industry, which is almost a century old, has witnessed many innovations since its beginning.
The founder and CEO of Droom, however, laments that there hasn't been any innovation in how used-cars can be bought and sold.
"Through Droom, we are trying to bridge that," he said.
The company targets to improve the service offered to used car buyers and sellers. (ANI)
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