Exclusive: After Cars24, Park+ Pilots On-Demand Driver Hiring Services

Car-ownership solutions provider Park+ is piloting a new service which allows users to book drivers on demand. The startup’s founder and CEO Amit Lakhotia told Inc42 that Park+ is currently testing the new service in Gurugram.

“There’s a significant demand for on-demand driver services, especially in the metros. It is an essential service if you are in a car-related business,” Lakhotia said. 

While the startup currently allows select users to hire drivers for intercity travel currently, it plans to add intracity travel going ahead. 

Park+ will hire drivers from agencies for the services. However, Lakhotia added that the startup already has around 2,000 drivers on the platform who are working as valets for parking and car servicing services. The services of these drivers will be used for the new service.  

The development comes almost two months after Inc42 exclusively reported that used-car marketplace Cars24 was piloting on-demand driver hiring services. Park+ will compete against the likes of Cars24 and DriveU with its new offering. 

Founded in 2019 by former Paytm executive Lakhotia, Park+ offers a range of services for car owners, including car parking solutions, FASTag management, paying and viewing challans, car insurance, and locating EV charging stations. 

It also caters to businesses through deployment of products such as automatic boom barriers, gate automation, and a full fledged cloud-based vehicle access control management system.

On the financial performance, Lakhotia said that the startup posted an operating revenue of INR 140 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), while its burn stood at INR 70 Cr. The startup is yet to file its FY24 numbers with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. 

In FY23, Park+’s revenue zoomed 146% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 96 Cr while net loss jumped 65% YoY to INR 99 Cr. 

In January last year, the startup bagged INR 140 Cr in its Series C funding round led by existing investors Epiq Capital, Matrix Partners India, and Sequoia India at a post-money valuation of around $340 Mn. 

Park+ then said it would use the funding to expand its operations to around 100 cities and expand its team. Currently, the startup has around 700 employees. 

It has raised a total funding of about $54 Mn till date. Park+ competes with the likes of Get My Parking and ParkingRhino in the nascent parking solutions space.