The fundraise could value the daily commute solutions startup at about $800 million, or Rs 6,000 crore, two people aware of the development said. The company has reached out to some of its existing investors about the fresh investment plans.
“The company has just started the fundraising process and the plan is to raise around $200 million. The new funding could see the participation of some of the existing investors and some new investors as well,” one of the people close to the development said.
Chalo has been providing live-tracking services across Indian cities for public transport. The company, in collaboration with Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST), had in December also launched an app for Mumbai’s bus service.
“The plan is to invest in technology that would make using public transport a convenience for young Indian consumers. If it’s possible to track the arrival time of Uber or Ola and how long it takes to reach one’s destination, then that can be done for public transport as well,” another person close to the development said.
He said that the company wishes to invest more in its technology and expand across other cities to offer its technology. “The investment talks are in an initial stage and it could take a couple of months before we know who the new investors are and the way ahead,” this person said.
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Chalo did not respond to an email seeking comment.
The company
had raised $40 million, or Rs 297 crore, in October 2021 from some of the largest funds. That funding was led by Lightrock India and Filter Capital but also saw participation from other investors, including Raine Venture Partners, WaterBridge Ventures, former Google Inc executive Amit Singhal and former WhatsApp Inc executive Neeraj Arora.
The startup had about 15,000 buses on its platform across 31 Indian cities then.
The company had also raised around $7 million, or Rs 52 crore, in January last year. Xiaomi Corp. and its investment unit, Shunwei Capital, have also invested Rs 50 crore in Chalo, ET first reported on April 3, 2019.
Chalo.com, previously Zophop Technologies, was founded in 2014 by Vinayak Bhavnani and Mohit Dubey, and displays schedules of buses, trains, and metro services in several cities. The app shows the availability of Ola, Uber, or any other cab service in the vicinity, as well as the cost, journey time, availability, and real-time movement of traffic in different languages.
The fresh investment is set to provide an exit for some of the early investors in the company.
“Some of the early investors, mainly individuals who had invested in the company in the first few rounds, could exit partially. Most investors want to continue with their investment, but fresh investors could also readjust some of the existing equity,” he said.
