Scooter-sharing startup Vogo raises fresh funding at $50 mn valuation

Chennai-based Vogo Automotive Pvt. Ltd, which operates an eponymous scooter-sharing platform, has raised Rs 63 crore ($8.9 million at current exchange rate) in a fresh funding round from a clutch of existing investors.

According to the company’s latest filings with the ministry of corporate affairs, the firm raised this sum in December 2018. The round was led by Kalaari Capital, which put in Rs 29.6 crore ($4.17 million at current exchange rate).

Matrix Partners, Stellaris Venture Partners and Hero Group promoter Pawan Munjal’s family trust accounted for the rest.

By TechCircle’s estimate, the company raised this sum at a post-money valuation of Rs 354 crore ($50 million).

E-mail queries to Anand Ayyadurai, co-founder and chief executive of the venture, did not get a response till the time of filing this report.

The development, going by the company’s filings, came around the time it got a $100 million (Rs 720 crore) commitment from Ola last month. 

In April last year, Ola had invested in Vogo as part of the company’s Series A funding round in which Matrix and Stellaris also participated.

Vogo was set up in 2016 by Ayyadurai, Padmanabhan Balakrishnan and Sanchit Mittal.

According to Vogo, the firm operates the country's first automated pickup-and-drop scooter rental platform. Vogo remotely tracks and monitors scooters in real time. It is currently operational in Mysuru, Manipal, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

For 2017-18, the company’s operational revenues saw a nearly 42% decline at Rs 1.85 crore, down from Rs 3.17 crore the previous year, going by financials filed with the corporate affairs ministry. Likewise, gross expenses widened to Rs 5.44 crore from Rs 4.93 crore during the period.

Net losses widened to Rs 3.27 crore from Rs 1.93 crore during the period.

Besides Vogo, a few scooter-sharing startups have attracted investor attention lately.

For example, TechCircle reported last month that Bengaluru-based Wickedride Adventure Services Pvt. Ltd, which operates dockless scooter- and bicycle-sharing platform Bounce, was in advanced stages of discussions to raise $50 million (Rs 348 crore) in a fresh funding round from new and existing investors.