Stride Ventures finds third portfolio firm in logistics-tech startup LetsTransport

Stride Ventures on Monday said it has invested $1.3 million in Diptab Ventures, which runs an intra-city logistics marketplace LetsTransport, to strengthen its operational capabilities during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The deal marks the New Delhi-based venture debt firm’s third investment so far.

“In a bid to help streamline urban logistics for enterprises in these trying times, we are constantly scaling up our operations and network by enhancing our capabilities. Enterprise businesses are increasingly looking to partner with organised logistics players to facilitate direct-to-consumer deliveries,” Pushkar Singh, co-founder and CEO at LetsTransport, said.

The company has raised a total of $4.4 million during the Covid-19 pandemic, the statement added. The fresh capital infusion comes two weeks after the Bengaluru-based startup picked up $1.3 million from Mumbai headquartered non-banking financial company BlackSoil Capital and about a month after venture debt firm InnoVen Capital invested $1.7 million in the firm.

Including the latest investment, LetsTransport has raised a total of $25.8 million from a mix of equity and debt investors, according to VCCEdge data. Fosun RZ Capital, Bertelsmann India Investments and Mitsubishi are among its other investors.

Singh founded LetsTransport in 2015 with fellow IIT Kharagpur alumni Sudarshan Ravi and Ankit Parasher. The startup provides urban logistics solutions to enterprises, who can manage their truck bookings through a phone call, mobile app or website.

Some of its clients include Amazon, Flipkart, Bisleri, Vishal Mega Mart, Future Supply Chain, Coca-Cola, Delhivery and Udaan.

In May alone, TechCircle reported three other fundraises in the logistics-tech space. Shiprocket raised $13 million in a Series C funding round led by Tribe Capital, while BlackBuck raised $4 million from returning venture lender Trifecta Capital. Loadshare Networks picked up about $13.2 million from Beenext in a Series B funding round.

“While the sector has been adversely impacted by the lockdown, LetsTransport’s robust business and operating model have helped them navigate through these challenging times. The company’s swift recovery can be attributed to their superior tech-enabled business processes, large enterprise relationships including essential goods, and the ability of the founders to onboard new clients through their unique offering of on-demand trucking,” Ishpreet Gandhi, founder and managing partner at Stride Ventures, said.

Read: Stride Ventures marks first close of debut fund

Founded in 2019, Stride Ventures has made two other investment disclosures so far. In April, it funded Mumbai-based Incredible Technologies, which owns online motorcycle platform CredR, while in December, the firm invested in Bengaluru-based Stellapps Technologies, an agritech startup that uses a full stack internet of things solution called SmartMoo to digitise supply chains in the dairy sector.