Online used cars listing startup Truebil raises $500K from Kae Capital and Anupam Mittal

Online platform for buying and selling pre-owned automobiles Truebil, started by former Housing.com employees, has raised $500,000 (RS 3.17 crore) in its first round of funding from seed stage VC fund Kae Capital and angel investor Anupam Mittal.

Truebil, run by Paix Technology Pvt Ltd, will use the funds to expand operations to other cities and increase investments in the technology interface, the company said in a press statement.

Mumbai-based Truebil is a virtual marketplace for pre-owned cars where it inspects used cars, prepares inspection reports and uploads photographs of dents/scratches so that buyers can then shortlist their preferred automobiles for purchase.

"The world is moving to full-stack solutions unlike the Indian pre-owned car market which has not seen innovation since decades. Truebil and its team are poised to crack that," Mittal, who is also the founder and CEO of People Group, said in the statement. People Group owns and operates internet properties such as Shaadi.com besides mobile content and apps firm Mauj Mobile.

Truebil was founded in March 2015 by former Housing.com employees Suraj Kalwani, Ravi Chirania, Shubh Bansal, Rakesh Raman and Shanu Vivek along with former Fab.com executive Ritesh Pandey and ex-Rio Tinto official Himanshu Singhal.

"With Truebil's model, we are confident of bringing about a revolution in the used car market in the country and making the buying process a gratifying experience for consumers," Bansal, co-founder and chief of marketing and growth at Truebil, said.

The company claims to be growing at 15 per cent every week and says its platform has been used for transactions worth Rs 3.12 core. Over 1,000 verified cars are registered with the portal.

Truebil offers services such as inspection and valuation, sell guarantee, vehicle buying consulting, paper transfer, loan assistance, insurance support and car spa services. It competes with online players such as CarDekho (also acquired Gaadi.com) and CarTrade in addition to horizontal P2P platforms such as OLX and Quikr.

According to a recent report by Google India and Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd, there has been an increase of 20 times in online searches for used cars in the last six years.