Gurugram-based minibus service Shuttl has raised around ₹75.6 crores ($11 million) in series B funding led by Amazon, in connection with Amazon Alexa Fund, and Japan-based Dentsu Ventures, along with other existing investors.
The fresh funds will be used for product development and expansion into new cities. The startup will also be looking to increase the routes and frequency with Delhi.
Paul Bernard, director, Amazon Alexa Fund, which backs voice technology startups, said, “Millions of people use shared transportation options for their everyday commute. Voice represents a new, convenient way for them to manage these types of daily routines, and we look forward to supporting Shuttl as they work to deliver this experience to Amazon Alexa customers across India.”
Shuttl, an app based office bus provider, helps to make daily commute for its users convenient by providing AC buses with high frequency at reasonable prices. It was founded by Amit Singh and Deepanshu Malviya in 2015.
Its services are currently available in Delhi-NCR, with pilot programs running in Pune and Kolkata. Shuttl claims to provide its services to over 30,000 users with a fleet of over 500 buses on 50 routes every day.
Shuttl had earlier raised around ₹135 crores ($20 million) in a series A funding led by Lightspeed Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Times Internet and Sequoia Capital in December 2015.
As per the company filings, it recorded an operational revenue of ₹14.34 crores in FY2016-17, compared to ₹2.23 crores in the previous year. Although, its net losses increased from ₹52.54 crores in 2016-17 to 59.07 crores in 2016-17.
With the acceptance of cab-sharing services in the Indian market, there is an opportunity for the bus aggregators to serve the users looking for a cheaper and reliable mode of transportation. Other players operating in this domain along with Shuttl include ZipGo and Cityflo.
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