Hyderabad-based Smart Auto Systems Private Ltd, which operates a workshop management software platform for passenger cars, has raised Rs 20 crore ($3 million) in a Series A funding round from Japanese business conglomerate Mitsui & Co, a financial daily reported citing documents filed with the Registrar of Companies.
The company will use the funds to ramp up technology and expand its services across the country, The Economic Times reported, quoting one person aware of the development.
This is the firm’s first round of external capital infusion since its inception in 2015 and could also be part of a larger infusion, the report added.
E-mail queries sent to Mitsui and Smart Auto Systems did not elicit a response at the time of filing this report. The copy will be updated as and when the responses are received.
Smart Auto Systems was founded in 2015 by Vijay Gummadi and Venu Donepudi. The company offers Autorox, a mobile-based garage/workshop management software for passenger cars. The software offers a suite of features in one package that includes opening a job card, creating an estimate, assigning technicians, work execution, inventory management, insurance process, quality check, invoicing and customer feedback.
Besides, it can also handle stock management functions such as purchases, sales, stock keeping and audit, according to information available on its website
“It is guaranteed to improve your revenues, profits, cashflow, and improve ROI by 25%,†claims a statement on the FAQ section of the company’s website.
A mechanical engineer by qualification, founder and chief executive Gummadi had an 11-year stint in the US working for companies like Altarum, Virtual Access Network and Campfire Interactive before taking the entrepreneurial route. Co-founder and managing director Donepudi is an electronics and communications engineer and has earlier worked at General Motors and Ford.
Prior to Smart Auto Systems, the duo co-founded Vahan Motors Private Limited in 2008, which operates Carz, a multi-brand car servicing company that offers end-to-end car servicing solutions. According to the ET report, Carz is the parent company of Smart Auto Systems Private Limited.
Carz received $5 million from IndoUS Venture Partners in 2011 and has over the years received a constant flow of funds. The last round the company completed was in April this year where it got Rs 3 crore, the ET report added citing data from research platform Tofler.
Other deals in the segment include automobile parts marketplace SparesHub.com, run by Iradium Automobiles Pvt. Ltd, which last month raised Rs 2 crore ($311,000) from a clutch of investors including The Chennai Angels, Singapore-based Anthill Scale Ventures, US-based Esvee Technologies Inc, and Inc95 Consulting.
