[Update] Zingbus Bags $9 Mn From bp Ventures

Update | December 17, 5:40 PM

A day after Inc42 reported about Zingbus raising INR 41.8 Cr (around $4.9 Mn) through a preferential issue from bp Ventures, the latter officially announced that it has invested $9 Mn (around INR 76.42 Cr) in the intercity mobility startup in its Series A round.

The investment is aimed at scaling operations and increasing the team size, bp Ventures said in its statement.

As per the statement, Zingbus has signed a commercial agreement with Jio-bp pulse, the electric mobility joint venture between Reliance and bp, to utilise the latter’s EV charging network and convenience sites across the country for bus operators on the Zingbus platform.

Original Story | December 16, 3:12 PM

Intercity mobility startup Zingbus is set to raise INR 59.04 Cr (around $6.9 Mn) through a preferential issue of equity shares to investors, including BP Technology Ventures and IE Ventures among others.

In a filing with the ministry of corporate affairs, the company said its board approved the issuance of INR 38,455 Series A3 compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) at a face value of INR 1 each and a premium of 15,354 per share to raise the sum.

While BP Technology Ventures will infuse INR 41.8 Cr (around $4.9 Mn) into the Delhi NCR-based startup, IE Venture Fund Follow-On I will invest INR 14 Cr.

Meanwhile, 9Unicorns Accelerator Fund – I via its trustee Vistra ITCL (India) Limited will pump in about INR 1.24 Cr into Zingbus. Notably, 9Unicorns rebranded itself to 100Unicorns earlier this year. 

Further, AdvantEdge Technology will also invest around INR 2 Cr in the company via various fund schemes.

Founded in 2019 by Prashant Kumar, Mratunjay Beniwal, and Ravi Kumar Verma, Zingbus aggregates fleets of buses to deliver an end-to-end standardised intercity travel experience to its customers. 

Delhi-NCR based startup claims to have a fleet of more than 350 buses operational in 300 cities across 18 states in India. It is also working towards an electric vehicle (EV) fleet of buses and setting up charging technology and EV infrastructure. 

The Y Combinator-backed company competes with the likes of Fresh Bus, Orange Tours and Travels, NueGo among others. 

The development comes at a time when the demand for intercity and interstate bus services is increasing. For instance, Bengaluru-based inter-state electric bus service provider Fresh Bus raised an additional INR 43.9 Cr in its Series A funding round led by Maniv Mobility in August. 

In July, online travel agency FlixBus joined hands with fintech major Paytm to expand its intercity bus travel services offerings in India.