India's LetsTransport gets $25m Series D
Bertelsmann India Investments has led a USD 25m Series D round for LetsTransport, a platform that aims to integrate independent truckers into the mainstream economy.
Bertelsmann India, which has backed LetsTransport since 2019, provided USD 20m in the round. It brings overall investment since the company’s inception in 2015 to USD 50m. Previous investors include Rebright Partners, Fosun RZ Capital, GMO Venture Partners, NB Ventures, Sparx Group, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, and Mitsubishi Corporation.
Bertelsmann India, a captive VC unit of the eponymous German media company, earmarked USD 500m for deployment in India last year, almost double the amount it had invested in the country since launching in 2013. Bertelsmann is active in logistics globally via its Germany-based Arvato division.
LetsTransport offers a platform that connects businesses and fragmented truckers with a view to improving reliability and lower costs. The company claims to use data analytics to ensure that goods reach their destination on time. It pegs its target market as being worth USD 200bn and including some 10m individual truckers.
The company supports last-mile, mid-mile, and the electric vehicle (EV) space. It is said to be one of the largest aggregators and enablers of commercial EVs in India. It has more than 200,000 registered truckers and 200 corporate clients across at least 25 cities. Clients include Amazon, Coca-Cola, Udaan, Flipkart, Bigbasket, and Delhivery.
LetsTransport claims to have grown about 4x during the past two years, delivering a client satisfaction rate of 97%. The company attributes its scalability ability to an asset-light model and trucker-focused technology. The plan is to use the Series D capital to expand market presence and reach profitability.
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