Sequoia India invests more in fleet management startup LocoNav

LocoNav, which offers fleet management and vehicle tracking solutions, has raised Rs 28 crore ($4 million at the current exchange rate) in a Series B round of funding from existing investor Sequoia Capital India.

The venture capital firm put the money in LocoNav’s parent BT TechLabs Pvt. Ltd over two tranches since January, show filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

LocoNav co-founder Shridhar Gupta confirmed the development to TechCircle. He said that Sequoia's investment was part of a larger funding round in which some new investors are also likely to pitch in. However, Gupta did not divulge further details.

Founded in 2015 by former ClearTax employees Gupta and Vidit Jain, LocoNav started out as an online marketplace for connecting truck or fleet owners and customers. It initially operated under the name BabaTrucks. The Delhi-based startup subsequently pivoted to an integrated vehicle management platform. 

The company uses intelligent analytics and Internet of Things (IoT) to lower running costs of vehicles and provide greater security and faster turnarounds.

LocoNav claims to be operational in more than 100 cities and serves over 10,000 businesses.

Sequoia had invested $3.42 million in LocoNav two years ago, according to various media reports. The year before that, LocoNav had secured funding from a clutch of angel investors.

Deals in the segment

While the likes of BlackBuck and Rivigo dominate the broader logistics-technology segment and have raised large sums in recent months, smaller peers have also secured funding of late. 

• May 2019: Logistics management startup Locus raised $22 million (around Rs 196 crore) in its Series B round of funding led by Falcon Edge Capital and Tiger Global Management LLC.
• March 2019: Logistics-technology startup Transport Hub raised Rs 3.5 crore (around $500,000) in seed funding from a clutch of high-net-worth individuals (HNIs).
• February 2019: Fleetx.io, an intelligent fleet management and predictive analytics platform, raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series A round of funding led by venture capital firm India Quotient and dealmaking platform LetsVenture’s angel fund.

Update: The article has been modified to include a response from LocoNav founder Shreedhar Gupta.