Ride-sharing app Zify raises $190K in angel funding

Zify Tech Solutions Pvt Ltd, which runs a ride-sharing app, has raised $190,000 (Rs 1.2 crore) in angel funding from two Hyderabad-based investors and Sean O'Sullivan of SOSventures.

The Hyderabad-company will use the funds for technology development and forming marketing strategies. It also plans to expand to other metro cities in the next six months.

The startup is in talks with venture capital funds for its Series A round, co-founder Anurag Rathor said.

Zify had previously raised Rs 10 lakh from former Microsoft India chairman and MD Srini Koppolu, 50K Ventures, Parampara Funds and the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, in May 2014.

"Our constant focus is towards customer engagement and adaptability without compromising on security. We would continue investing in technology and our marketing efforts to make Zify more scalable and reliable in coming weeks," said Rathor.

Zify was founded by Rathor and Pramod Kumar in 2014. Rathor is a Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology graduate who previously worked as a technology specialist with Wells Fargo, while Kumar is an IIT Kharagpur alumnus who previously worked at Yatra.com.

The company has operations in Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Bangalore. It claims to have more than 11,000 registered users, of which 8,000 were acquired in the past two months. It also has its own wallet for cashless transactions.

The ride-sharing segment is dominated by players such as BlaBlacar, Tripda, Ibibo Group's Ryde, Meru Cab's Carpool and UberPool. Taxi aggregator Ola was also planning to launch car-pooling service called Ola Share.