Vogo raises USD 11.5 mn funding from Lightrock, Kalaari, others

Vogo, a two-wheeler rental service provider, on Thursday said it has raised USD 11.5 million (about Rs 83.6 crore) from existing investors including Lightrock, Kalaari, Matrix Partners and Stellaris Venture Partners. The latest capital infusion, which is an extension of the series C round, will be utilised to expand and electrify the fleet, to increase focus on achieving profitability by improving unit economics, asset utilisation and to optimise marketing growth through better consumer understanding, a statement said. With net positive contribution margins, VOGO is making strides towards achieving profitability by the end of this year, it added.

Founded in 2016, by Anand Ayyadurai, Padmanabhan Balakrishnan and Sanchit Mittal, Vogo operates in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The Ola-backed company has 3 million registered users and has served more than 10 million rides covering about 130 million kilometers. Vogo, with its AI/ML powered tech platform, has designed three key services – Now (for short durations), Keep (offers longer term, from a day to 2 months) and Flexi Keep (offers customisation of rental plans basis the need). “Vogo strives to provide technology driven safe and convenient mobility solutions to daily commuters.

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Our focus on a disciplined approach to growth during the pandemic has helped us to come out stronger with competitive scale and leadership in profitability,” Vogo co-founder and CEO Anand Ayyadurai. He added that the company continues to build on its strengths and roll-out a profitable electric vehicle offering going forward. “Having significantly improved our unit level profitability in our existing business this year, we intend to utilise this capital to strengthen our product line and focus on better customer experience going forward,” he said. The statement said the company has been registering strong month-on-month growth.