India's VC-backed Drivezy raises $20m Series B

Current backers IT-Farm and Axan Partners also contributed to the funding round, according to media reports linked from Drivezy’s Twitter feed. Japanese financial technology company AnyPay – another early investor – will provide Drivezy with $100 million in asset financing over the next three years to add more vehicles to the platform.

Founded in 2015 as JustRide, Drivezy offers peer-to-peer vehicle sharing services, positioning itself as an alternative to buying cars and bikes, along with a source of revenue for vehicle owners. The company is present in nine cities and claims to have 7,000 bikes and cars listed on its platform; it hopes to grow to 21 cities and expand to 31,000 vehicles by the end of 2019, with 50,000 vehicles added by 2022.

Drivezy has raised more than $36 million to date, including a $10 million round last year with participation by Das, Axan, and IT-Farm, along with CrowdWorks. In addition to its online platform, the company is experimenting with innovative financial services such as a blockchain-based asset sharing platform to help supplement the income of vehicle owners on the platform.

Direct competitors for Drivezy include car rental start-ups such as Zoomcar and Revv, both of which have received significant support from VC and strategic investors. Ride-sharing firms such as Ola and Uber, which reduce the need for independent car operation, are also seen as potential rivals for vehicle rental businesses.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• South Asia
• Technology
• Consumer
• Early-stage
• India
• automobiles
• TMT