TravelKhana raises funding from Astarc Ventures, others

Delhi-based Duronto Technologies Pvt Ltd, which runs online food ordering service for train passengers TravelKhana, has secured an undisclosed amount in a bridge round from Mumbai-based seed fund Astarc Ventures and some high net-worth individuals ahead of its planned Series A funding, according to a statement.

The company will use the funds to expand its presence to 400 railway stations by the end of next year from 150 currently and improve back-end technology. The firm said it is now eyeing $10 million in Series A investment.

The latest round of investment was made via LetsVenture, an online platform for startups and investors to facilitate angel and seed investments.

"We partnered with Astarc to take their inputs on operational expertise as they come from a deep manufacturing background, apart from their investment," said Pushpinder Singh, founder of TravelKhana.

Previously, the company had raised funding from angel investors such as Google India head Rajan Anandan, Indifi Technologies co-founder and CEO Alok Mittal, Sarbvir Singh and others.

"Businesses built on basic needs of life are areas of high interest to us - food, clothing, housing, health and the like... TravelKhana has done a fabulous job in getting the initial traction and getting a good working model," Salil Musale, executive director at Astarc Ventures, said in a statement.

Astarc Ventures typically invests Rs 1 crore to Rs 3 crore in early-stage technology ventures and can go up to Rs 10 crore in select deals.

In May this year, Astarc Ventures had invested around $1 million in Hyderabad-based online home decor company Foyr.com (earlier Renderlogy).

Founded in 2012, TravelKhana connects the train passenger to the food caterers in Indian railway network. The portal enables train travelers to order food, which is delivered at a pre-decided station. It tracks trains in real time across India and seeks to ensure that food is delivered to the passenger through its various restaurants on the Indian railway network.

For the financial year 2014-15, the company posted revenue of Rs 1 crore. The startup claims it serves 3,000 passengers in a day.

Other players in the segment include YatraChef, Travelthali, Khanaonline, Travelerfood and TravelZaika.