Car services platform Bumper raises $500K from SAIF

Bumper, a mobile marketplace and booking platform for car servicing, has secured $500,000 (Rs 3.3 crore) in seed funding from venture capital firm SAIF Partners.

Bangalore-based Unbox Technologies Pvt Ltd, which runs Bumper, will use the money raised to expand the range of services on its platform, Akhil Gupta, co-founder, Bumper said in a statement.

Bumper was co-founded in 2015 by Akhil Gupta, Rahul Bendre, Ashis Nayak and Kshitij Saxena. In 2013, all the founders of Bumper had come together to start Autoninja, a B2B company in the auto retailing space.

"Today, customers really don't know which is the best workshop in town is what really needs to be done to their car and what is the right price for it," said Gupta. "We are trying to solve this problem by aggregating verified workshops and service providers. Our app makes it very easy to discover the right solution for your car problem and track real time status as the job is being done."

The company helps consumers get accurate quotes for any dent, paint or repair work. Bumper also facilitates booking appointments for its customers in more than 100 workshops in Bangalore for any car repairs and servicing needs such as engine oil change, AC repair, wheel alignment/balancing, brakes overhaul, advanced car cleaning or washing, etc.

"By 2016, India's vehicle sales would surpass Brazil, Germany and Japan making India the third largest market. With more vehicles on road, there will be a great need for a platform that can aggregate supply and demand sides for the car after-market in an efficient manner. Team Bumper has already been solving supply side problems of automobile sector using technology and analytics and have built a profitable business around it in a very short time," said Mukul Singhal, principal, SAIF Partners.

The auto spare parts and servicing space has seen the entry of several startups and these have been successful in raising funds. Mumbai-based online car services marketplace MotorExpert, which aggregates automobile workshops on its platform, also lets workshops place orders for spare parts and accessories via its mobile app. Its founder Runal Dahiwade had launched an automotive spare parts venture called Carkhana, which was later acquired by Topwheelz Automotive Pvt Ltd in 2012.

In November, Pune-based Iradium Automobiles Pvt Ltd, which operates online automobile parts and services marketplace SparesHub, raised an undisclosed amount in pre-Series A funding from Hyderabad Angels and Singapore-based M&S Partners.

Earlier this year, Bangalore-based automotive services marketplace Cartisan raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from Global Founders Capital, Yuvraj Singh's YouWeCan Ventures, TaxiForSure founder Aprameya Radhakrishna and others. The automotive after-market servicing business in India is pegged at about $2 billion (excluding spare parts), as per a joint study by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Automotive Components Manufacturers Association (ACMA).

SAIF Partners has made several early stage investments in startups across education, transport and fintech this year. Delhi-based non-banking finance company (NBFC) Aye Finance Pvt Ltd had secured Rs 20 crore (around $3 million) in follow-on-investments from investment firm SAIF Partners and Accion, a global non-profit organisation that supports microfinance institutions.

In December, Gurgaon-based data science-backed logistics services provider TrucksFirst Services Pvt Ltd, which operates under the brand name Rivigo, raised $30 million (around Rs 200 crore) including a small debt finance portion, in a Series B round of funding from its existing investor SAIF Partners and others. This year, Voodoo Technologies Pvt Ltd, which runs a mobile app that compares prices and deals on e-commerce sites, raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from SAIF Partners. Last month, Bobble, a mobile app that converts selfies into comical stickers, has raised an undisclosed amount in Series A funding from SAIF Partners and other unnamed investors.