Moving Tech Innovations Ltd, the firm behind community-led mobility apps such as Namma Yatri and Yatri Sathi, has raised $11 million (Rs 92 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round.
The round was led by Blume Ventures and Antler with participation from Google and several other investors.
Moving Tech plans to invest the funds in technology, R&D, and product innovation to empower drivers, integrate public transport, and enhance customer experience. "Through direct-to-driver and multimodal transportation models, Moving Tech aims to increase driver earnings while providing reliable, affordable, seamless, and sustainable mobility solutions for all," the company said in a statement.
In April 2020, Softbank-backed Juspay spun off the mobility business into a separate firm called Moving Tech. Shan M S and Magizhan Selvan, who were part of JusPay, are currently leading the spun-off mobility business.
"With our people-first approach, our goal is to build empathetic products and tech that are 10x better. By collaborating with Samaaj (Community), Sarkar (Government), and Bazaar (Business), we aspire to create an impact similar to UPI in India and Linux worldwide. This funding will enable us to innovate and grow further," Selvan and Shan M S said.
Moneycontrol was the first to report on April 18 that Namma Yatri was in talks with Blume Ventures, Antler and Google.
"Moving Tech is at the forefront of transforming mobility with a fresh and innovative model. We were amazed by the simplicity of what the tech and a robust product can do to solve mass mobility. We are glad to partner with an exceptional team and back their grand vision," Karthik Reddy, partner at Blume Ventures, said.
"Namma Yatri’s focus on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is pioneering. They are building the mobility of the future—one that is inclusive, efficient, and sustainable. We are thrilled to support them,” Fady Abdel-Nour and Nitin Sharma Partners at Antler said
This is the first big funding deal that a pure play ONDC-based company has completed, apart from some seed rounds that have happened for companies like Plotch and Bitsila.
To be sure, Bitsila was acquired by Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma- backed Pai Platforms in a Rs 18 crore (over $2 million) in February this year, according to sources.
Expansion Spree
Fintech firm Juspay, in collaboration with Nandan Nilekani's BECKN Foundation and supported by Bengaluru's Auto Rickshaw Drivers' Union (ARDU), launched the Namma Yatri app in November 2022. This app promises to be an alternative to Ola and Uber, which charge 30-40 percent commission.
As per the firm’s website, the driver’s earnings across the country so far at Rs 711.66 crores and It also has completed 4.62 crore trips through its platform.
The ride-hailing market is presently dominated by players like Ola and Uber. Rapido is also seeing increasing market share. However, Namma Yatri’s subscription model has been in the spotlight.
In November 2022, Namma Yatri introduced the direct-payment model in Bengaluru, becoming the pioneer in this approach. Subsequently, other ride-hailing giants like Ola, Uber, and Rapido have expressed interest in adopting this model to circumvent GST charges on their services.
Originally launched as the Yatri app, Namma Yatri debuted in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Tumkur, and Kochi. In Kolkata, it was introduced as Yatri Saathi. Recently, the company expanded its services to Chennai, where it even facilitates 'metro-ticket' bookings through its platform.
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