Transport-tech platform Chalo Mobility Pvt. Ltd, on Monday said it has raised $45 million in its Series D funding round led by new investor Avataar Ventures.
Existing investors Lightrock India, WaterBridge Ventures, and Amit Singhal, former senior vice president and head of Google Search, also participated in the latest funding mop-up.
The company has raised an additional $12 million in venture debt from Trifecta and Stride Ventures. It had earlier raised $40 million (Rs 296 crore then) in its Series C funding led by Lightrock India and Filter Capital in October 2021. To date, the company has raised $119 million in multiple equity rounds.
VCCircle had reported in April that Avataar Venture Partners was in talks to lead a round of funding in Chalo. The VC firm was likely to write a cheque of $20-30 million (Rs 164-245 crore) in the transport-tech startup.
Chalo is looking to use the funds to expand its presence in international markets after its foray into South-East Asia. It also plans to focus on increasing e-vehicles on the road – both buses and e-bikes and further enhancing its tech capabilities.
“Our tech stack is globally relevant, and can help improve the public transport experience in cities around the world,” said Mohit Dubey, cofounder and chief executive officer (CEO).
Founded in 2014 by Mohit Dubey, Vinayak Bhavnani, Priya Singh, and Dhruv Chopra, Chalo is a transport-tech platform that helps bus providers with ticketing and tracking services. The company makes money fees by partnering with intra-city bus operators.
It is currently operating is operational in 51 cities across states such as Delhi NCR, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam. It claims to be live-tracking 15,000 buses in the country.
The app also helps passengers to live track their bus and see its live arrival time. They can also see how crowded the bus is and buy a ticket or a bus pass via the app. It also runs office commute buses in Delhi and Kolkata under the brand name Shuttl, which it had acquired in an all-cash deal in October 2021.
Chalo also operates a fleet of e-bikes for first and last-mile connectivity under the brand name Vogo, which it had acquired in March last year.
