Self-drive car rental startup Drivezy’s wish for a new funding round is most likely to be fulfilled pretty soon. This is courtesy due to SoftBank and Amazon, who are reportedly interested in pumping $100 Mn in the Bengaluru based startup. Both are likely to infuse the funds in the form of equity as well as debt.
Reports are also rife that Drivezy is separately trying to raise $400 Mn through asset financing round. Sources have additionally claimed, according to Economic Times, that Amazon’s funding will be more geared towards Drivezy’s sister unit Rayy. A relatively new unit of Drivezy, Rayy is focused on leveraging the ongoing boom in the sharing economy.
Remaining part of the funds, on other hand, is most likely to be used for expanding Drivezy’s fleet. The startup currently owns 15,000 scoters and 4,000 cars across 11 cities. Today the Bengaluru based startup owns largest scoter fleet than any other player in the country.
Drivezy was founded in 2015 with an aim to fill the much needed void in the two-wheeler based ride hailing space. Although the company has also added cars to its marketplace, it is predominately focused on two-wheeler rental market. The decision seems to be a wise one considering that there is still huge headroom available in the two-wheeler rental market.
This is not to say that Drivezy doesn’t face any major competition in the two wheeler rental market. Vogo, ONN Bikes, Snapbikes, Ziphop and Wheelstreet are some of the major competitors in this market. But Vogo amongst all has emerged as a formidable competitor especially after it raised $100 Mn from Ola last year.
However, Drivezy hasn’t been too far behind in fundraising game either. It has raised $35 Mn in equity funding and $100-million via asset financing till date.
