Bengaluru based scooter sharing platform Vogo, has announced that it has received a Series A round of funding led by ANI Technologies of Ola cabs, and Hero MotoCorp Chairman, Pawan Munjal, in addition to a few other venture capitalist and individual investors. The company, which offers dockless scooter rental services, lets customers rent scooters for short haul commute at various locations across the city. Currently, the service is available only in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, and Vogo plans to add over 1000 pickup points across these cities in the coming year.
In addition to the Ola and Pawan Munjal, Stellaris Venture Partners and Matrix Partners India have also invested in the Volo. Individual investors like Aprameya Radhakrishna of TaxiForSure, Rajesh Yabaji Founder from Blackbuck, and Mayank Bidawatka the founder of Goodbox, have also participated in the round. Commenting on receiving the Series A round of funding, Anand Ayyadurai, Founder and CEO, Vogo, said, "Success of our Series A funding round signals the trust and confidence our investors have in our vision. We see this partnership with Ola as a great strategic fit, and aim to leverage their products, technology and operations infrastructure, to better suit our customers' needs."
Sandeep Divakaran, Vice President, Ola, said, "Vogo, a young innovator in the space is adding an effective layer to the first and last mile connectivity needs with its self-drive scooters. Their offering resonates with our vision and we are thrilled to be a part of their journey of providing smart and pocket-friendly transportation."
The Vogo app enables users to locate, unlock and pick-up scooters and bikes from one point, and drop it off at a different point like regular rental service, but without the need for a docking station. To make the process automated and hassle-free, every scooter in Vogo's fleet comes with an OTP based IoT sensor. This allows customers to access the key without the need for any human intervention. Talking about the company's aim, Anand said, "Our goal is to make a Vogo scooter available in every nook and corner of the country that's plagued with issues like traffic congestion, pollution and growing population. We've been working with the authorities since the launch of our operations late last year, to make this a reality in a vast majority of areas in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and the response has been quite overwhelming."
The company says that the scooter-sharing platform, which experiments with a new age mode of commute that's light on the pocket, has received great response from customers across the globe. And Vogo plans to do something similar in India. The scooter sharing company says its average trip goes up to 5 km per ride, making for an ideal first and last mile commute in Indian cities like Bengaluru, which are plagued by traffic congestion. Vogo says that using its mobile app, more than 27000 users have commuted for over 6 million kilometres.
