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Google India head Rajan Anandan has acquired minority stake in TravelKhana, an online food delivery service for railway passengers.
Anandan and associates of Pushpinder Singh, chief executive of New Delhi-based Duronto Technologies Pvt Ltd, which owned and operated TravelKhana, together invested about Rs 3 crore in Travelkhana.
Pushpinder Singh had launched the platform in early 2012.
In October, Duronto Technologies had raised an undisclosed amount from Palaash Ventures. Tapesh Singhi, partner, Palaash Ventures, said about 15 million people in India travelled through long-distance trains every day and, therefore, this sector held immense potential.
Last month, Business Standard had reported food portal TastyKhana and portals such as TravelKhana and Mera Food Choice, which supplied food in tier-I and tier-II cities, as well as to train passengers, were on the radar of venture capital and seed investors in India.
Travelkhana has tied up with about 200 restaurants in cities such as Bhopal, Gwalior, Jaipur, Ajmer and Kota.
A study by Technopak Advisors said the Indian food services industry was a $14-billion market, of which the unorganised sector accounted for $12 billion. Quick-service restaurants ruled the organised sector, with half the market share.
Rajan, former managing director of Microsoft in India, has invested in about 40 start-ups in India, as an angel investor. He is also the co-founder of Blue Ocean Ventures, the first seed fund in Sri Lanka.
