Paytm backed Jugnoo envisions to venture into 40 new cities by 2015 end Mobile app offering one of the largest networks of auto-rickshaws in India
By Entrepreneur India •
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Founded in 2014 by Samar Singla and Chinmay Agarwal, Jugnoo, a Chandigarh based startup has ventured into the industry as one of the leading auto-rickshaw aggregators. The mobile commerce company, with 15000 people transacting per day, is still at a very nascent stage.
It is a mobile app offering one of the largest networks of auto-rickshaws in India. It has more than 3300 autos empanelled under the brand at present. By streamlining the daily commute for the urban populace, it has steadily gained immense popularity with a firm thrust on technology and transforming local travel across cities.
Recently, the venture has secured $3 million in series "B' funding, to further accelerate the company's growth and customer success. The investment was led by Paytm with participation from other HNIs like Kunal Shah from Freecharge. The fund raised will aid the aggressive pan-India expansion plans of the company and will also be utilized to streamline processes in all new cities.
Commenting on the investment, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and CEO, Paytm said "Jugnoo is trying to solve a very fundamental problem. Given their grasp of the auto-rickshaw space and their current traction, it just reconfirms that there is a huge potential in aggregating autos." Jugnoo has shown tremendous progression only in a year's time with an angel round investment worth $1 million, followed by Series "A' funding of $5 million led by SnowLeopard and Paytm which participated in that round in the month of May.
"We look at this funding as a great vote of confidence in Jugnoo and its vision of how companies can accelerate their revenue growth. To have an existing investor come back and invest again, that too in a lead capacity this time, is just a promising sign telling us that we must be doing something right. The funding also highlights the long term potential of the company. We are certain that we are one of the fastest growing companies in our market category, and we plan to use this funding to invest even more heavily to further accelerate our growth," said Samar Singla, Founder and CEO, Jugnoo.
Currently operational in 22 cities, venture is witnessing around 15K daily transactions and a huge user base of 1 million. Targeting the students, working professionals and masses that are dependent on public transport for their daily conveyance, the company envisions capturing every city in the country. It anticipates an exponential growth, as it plans to venture into 40 new cities by the end of 2015.
