Blume Ventures, Others Back Car Repair Startup Pitstop

Bengaluru-based car repair and servicing startup Pitstop has raised $1 Mn Series A funding from Blume Ventures and Singapore-based Goldbell Group. Angel investors Anurag Srivastava, Shailesh Rao, Amiya Pathak, Rajesh Yohanan and Rahul Garg also participated in the round.

Earlier this year, Pitstop’s investor and early stage venture fund Blume Ventures became a part of the Draper Venture Network (DVN). DVN is an alliance of independent VC firms that connects leading entrepreneurs and investors around the world. The alliance will provide Blume’s portfolio companies access to a global network of corporate and ecosystem relationships.

Founded in 2015 by Mihir Mohan and Nirant Ramakuru, Pitstop aims to provide mobile enabled car repair services to owners and service providers. It currently offers services in Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad and Chennai.

Talking about the investment utilisation, co-founder Mihir Mohan said, “While we have so far worked through a network of 150 garages, we also want to focus on doorstep services and will invest in adding vehicles. We will also use the new funding to develop our technology.”

Pitstop offers a common platform for car owners and service providers to connect and transact on car related services. The startup is building modernised multi-brand car service garages by providing technology platform, processes, spare parts and right diagnostic tools and equipment. It also works with ride-sharing companies and utilises its proprietary SaaS-based Fleet Information System that provides a one-stop real-time view of service repairs.

The startup had earlier raised an undisclosed amount of Seed funding in 2016, from Alex Chua, chief operating officer at Singapore-based Goldbell Group, and Rahul Garg, founder of Moglix.

According to an IBEF report, the Indian auto industry, one of the largest in the world, accounts for 7.1% of the country’s GDP. The sales of Passenger Vehicles, Commercial Vehicles and 2 Wheelers grew by 9.17%, 3.03% and 8.29% respectively, during the period April-January 2017. The automotive sector is valued at approximately $15 Bn in the top eight cities of which the after sales market is close to $7 Bn and growing at a healthy pace.

In September 2016, cross-category classifieds company Quikr acquired Stepni, a platform that connects vehicle owners with the service providers nearest to them. With the recent round of funding, from Blume Ventures and other investors, car repair and servicing startup Pitstop will work to strengthen its position against other players like Cartisan, Bumper, Droom, and others.

(The development was reported by ET)