Seeders Venture Capital Backs Bangalore-based CarSingh

CarSingh, an online platform that helps users buy and sell used and new cars, has raised an undisclosed amount in its first round of funding from Seeders Venture Capital Pvt Ltd. CarSingh says that it attracts more than two lakh users per month.

CarSingh.com allows users to research new/used cars by price range, make and model. Car research tools, car pricings, car accessories and dealers' discount offers are provided as well.

Founded in January 2010, the company claims to offer the largest selection of used cars inventory from dealers and private sellers. It is now planning to expand its operations in used cars market across India, besides focusing on the after-sales market.

"We are planning to invest the funds in scaling our business. We will also invest in technology upgrade to build a better system which will enable the company to provide effective services to our customers. Additionally, these funds will help us hire quality manpower," said Rohit Singh, founder & CEO of CarSingh.

Seeders Venture Capital primarily funds software, mobile, Web services and gaming companies which offer differentiating products or services where Internet is a key enabler. Its other investments include CropEx Technology Solutions and Eduora.com.

Last month, pre-owned vehicle sales portal MotorExchange raised $13 million through its third round of funding, led by Tiger Global Management.

There has been an increasing strategic interest in this space since European multimedia company Axel Springer AG and the India Today group picked up 70.4 per cent stake in Automotive Exchange Pvt Ltd (owner of the automotive classified ads portal Carwale.com) in 2010.

Earlier this year, the MIH Group, a subsidiary of the South African media group Naspers, acquired a majority stake in Gaadi Web Pvt Ltd, which runs the auto classifieds site Gaadi.com.

Other automotive portals in India include eBay Motors, Autojunction.com, Autoindia.com, Carazoo.com and Zigwheels.com.