FabHotels, Pitstop, SOAL disclose fresh capital infusion

Casa2 Stays, which owns online budget hotel chain FabHotels, was set to raise Rs 10.66 crore (about $150,000) from returning investor RB Investments in March, as per regulatory filings made on Tuesday.

The capital infusion is part of an overall investment of about $5.5 million in an ongoing Series B round from returning investors Goldman Sachs, venture capital firms Accel and RB Investments.

In the Series B funding stage, the company has so far raised $7.9 million from Goldman Sachs, Accel and Qualcomm Ventures, in addition to $25 million from Goldman Sachs and Accel.

Venture capital firm Qualcomm Ventures, which participated in the previous round, has not invested in the latest round. It is replaced by Singapore-based RB Investments, which will infuse $1.5 million in the budget hotel chain. The Rajesh Bothra-founded firm had earlier invested in FabHotels in the Series A funding round. 

Prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, FabHotels expected to post profits by the financial year ended March 2022.  

The firm was founded in 2014 by Vaibhav Agarwal and Manish Manpuria. It operates on an asset-light model, in contrast with sector leader OYO, using its technology platform to promote partner hotels. As of June 2019, FabHotels operated 500 hotels in 40 Indian cities. 

Acko invests $1.2 mn in Pitstop 

Online insurance company Acko on Thursday said it has invested $1.2 million in car service and repair service provider Pitstop.

The strategic investment, Acko said, will bolster its engagement with customers throughout their car ownership lifecycle, right from its auto claim servicing capability to doorstep repair and delivery.

Additionally, all of Pitstop’s technology enabled garages will be fully integrated with Acko’s claim settlement platform to offer claims assessment and disbursal, it added.

Chatpay Commerce, the parent company of the omnichannel automobile servicing platform, had in March raised $2.5 million in a Series A round of funding, led by TPG Growth-backed Group Landmark.

Funding activity in the online-based automobile servicing startups space across India, albeit sporadic, has seen sizable interests and cheques being drawn from marquee investor houses.

SOAL raises undisclosed sum from Munjal Auto promoters 

Hyderabad-based hybrid learning venture School of Accelerated Learning (SOAL) on Thursday said it has raised an undisclosed amount of capital from the promoters of auto component maker Munjal Auto.

The funds, SOAL said, will be utilised for skilling over 3,000 learners from the country and advance its digital footprint in India and other developing nations. It claimed to have trained over 400 individuals on its platform so far.

Founded in 2017 by Pratik Agarwal, Raj Desai and Varsha Bhambhani, graduates of ISB, Dev Bootcamp (USA) and IIM-B, respectively, the company operates as a hybrid boot camp for emerging technologies and future work skills.

The company raised $300,000 in October 2019, after which it has launched a new course in product design and a campus in Mumbai.

“The rapidly growing product school is fuelling this 3D growth further by leveraging the freshly raised incoming funds towards augmenting its proprietary technology platform named DELTA, an artificial intelligence-enabled personalised learning assistant,” the statement added.

It is also gearing up to offer programmes in product management, AI, android development, and blockchain, it added.