The mobile-based minibus service platform, Shuttl is eyeing to raise an amount of $11 million (around Rs 76 crore) in a new round of funding from a group of investors along with the e-commerce giant Amazon.
The investors that are expected to invest in this funding round are existing investors Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Times Internet Limited. Along with this, another fresh investor may include Dentsu Ventures which is a Japan-based corporate venture fund.
Apart from this, it is also being said that Ambiga Subramanian, co-founder of data analytics MuSigma, will also invest according to her personal capacity.
With the help of the investment, the company plans to expand and improve its customer base as the bus services apps have struggled to scale up and have often run into trouble with regulatory authorities and public transport services.
Shuttl, at present, is operational only in Delhi NCR and provides its services across more than 50 routes with about 600 buses, which shows an average of around 30,000 rides a day.
Shuttl also provides separate services to corporates and provides vehicles for rentals. The company was founded in April 2015 by Singh and Deepanshu Malviya. It is owned by Super Highway Labs Pvt. Ltd.
According to the reports, the company posted an operating revenue of Rs 14.34 crore in the financial year 2016-17, an increase from Rs 2.23 crore from the previous financial year. Its net losses increased to Rs 59.07 crore, from Rs 52.54 crore in 2015-16.
Last month, Amazon led a $12 million (around Rs 80 crore) investment in an online insurance company called Acko General Insurance Co. Ltd. And now, it is all set to invest in the online bus platform Shuttl. These investments seem to be a part of the strategy of Amazon to boost up its existence in India.