Noida-based Stelling Technologies Pvt Ltd, the company behind RailYatri, a crowd-sourced platform that provides train-related travel information, has raised an undisclosed amount in a Series A round of funding from Infosys co-founder and former UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani.
The round also saw participation of existing investors Helion Ventures, Omidyar Networks and Blume Ventures.
The firm will use the funding for marketing and enhancing technology, it said in a statement.
“What excites me about RailYatri is the fact that it is a new-age product made by Indians for Indians. The RailYatri app—which intelligently harnesses the power of smartphones, data and mobile payments—has a huge opportunity of impacting the lives of millions of travellers,” said Nilekani.
Founded in 2011 by Manish Rathi, Kapil Raizada and Sachin Saxena, RailYatri uses deep analytics to make predictions that help travellers make smart decisions for their upcoming journey.
The platform can be accessed from the firm’s website and the RailYatri app. The mobile app uses traveller's mobile GPS to predict if a train is delayed, in addition to platform number and coach position and predicts if a ticket in the waiting list will be confirmed.
It also allows travellers to book essential services such as premium onboard meals, bus tickets and budget rooms. The firm currently claims to cater to 2 million users a month.
Nilekani has previously invested in online buying hub for SMEs Power2SME, industrial robots maker Systemantics India, mobile startup Mubble, aviation tech startup Team Indus, online deal-making platform LetsVenture, logistics firm Fortigo and book publisher Juggernaut.
