Chandigarh-based SoCoMo Technologies Pvt Ltd, which owns on-demand delivery service provider Jugnoo, has acquired taxi aggregator BookMyCab in a cash and stock deal.
Financial details of the transaction are not disclosed.
Samar Singla, CEO of Jugnoo, told Techcircle that this acquisition will bring 2,000 'kali peelis' (black and yellow cabs) onto Jugnoo's network, which also enables autorickshaw rides and delivery of food and grocery through autorickshaws in Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jaipur.
The deal gives Jugnoo faster entry into the Mumbai market and facilitates 10,000 daily transactions on its platform, Singla added.
Interestingly, BookMyCab got a cab aggregation licence in Delhi last month, something that larger rivals Ola and Uber have been struggling with.
“Getting a licensed player onboard should tip the scale in our favour and is a huge opportunity for us,” Singla said.
Jugnoo had raised $5 million (Rs 32 crore) in a Series A round from Snow Leopard Technology Ventures and Paytm with participation of existing angel investors last month.
The company had secured $1 million from Rajesh Mathur, co-founder of Junglee (which was acquired and relaunched by Amazon); Vikas Taneja, partner and managing director of BCG Groups, and others in a seed round early this year.
Although incorporated 2012, the startup launched its operations last November. It currently operates in four cities – Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jaipur. It was founded by IIT Delhi alumni Singla and Chinmay Aggarwal.
Jugnoo focuses on three segments - auto booking services, online ordering and home delivery of home cooked meal and groceries. It aims to raise $20 million in the next few months.
Mumbai-based BookMyCab, run by LiveMinds Solutions Pvt Ltd, was founded by Avinash Gupta in 2012. It allows commuters to book non-AC yellow-and-black cabs at regular metre fare in addition to AC cool cabs. This makes it cheaper in comparison with regular radio cabs.
The company has about 5,000 cabs. BookMyCab had raised an undisclosed amount from existing investors Mumbai Angels and YourNest in its latest money raising round.
Sunil Goyal, founder and CEO of YourNest, said BookMyCab’s market reach and Jugnoo’s tech infrastructure will create an effective cab aggregation service. However, he ruled out YourNest exiting the company. In fact, there’s a high possibility that YourNest may participate in the proposed $20 million fund raising exercise at Jugnoo, he added.
Jugnoo would compete with the likes of Ola, TaxiForSure (now owned by Ola) and Uber, which have added autorickshaws to their networks besides cabs. These players are banking on execution play in a vast market.
Interestingly, both Jugnoo and Ola now have strengths in cab hailing and grocery delivery, but through reverse approaches. Jugnoo forayed into cab hailing through the BookMyCab buy while Ola recently forayed into the home delivery of meals and groceries segment by organically launching a standalone app named Ola Store.
