Updated: DriveU, An App That Provides Chauffeurs, Raises Funding From Unitus Seed Fund

Bangalore-based DriveU, a firm that aggregates on-demand drivers for private car owners, has raised an undisclosed $1 Mn in seed funding from Unitus Seed Fund.

Founded in June 2015 by Ramprasad Shastry (“Rahm”), Ashok Shastry and Amulmeet Singh Chadh, DriveU is owned and operated by Humble Mobile Solutions Pvt. Ltd. The startup aims to enhance customer experience by implementing better practices in technology, driver verification, training methods,and on-road commute experience (be it for shopping, running errands, airport pickups & drops, business meetings, day to day commuting, and for attending social events, dining at a restaurant/bar, concerts, weddings, parties etc.).

Customer safety is of utmost importance to DriveU, and thus they follow stringent policies to get the drivers verified by police and RTO before registering them on the system.

How It Works

A customer can book a driver using the DriveU app (available on Google Play Store/Apple App Store) or through its website. With the help of the app, one can book the nearest available DriveU driver and can also track while the driver is on route to the customer’s pickup location.  Once a booking is confirmed, all the necessary information such as driver’s name, picture, rating, phone number, location, distance from customer’s pick up point and estimated time of arrival is provided.

DriveU’s charges a fare of INR 99 per hour. There is no surge pricing ‘feature’ on the DriveU app; hence chances of getting fleeced with peak-hour pricing is another hassle avoided.

Currently, the startup offers its services across 4 cities – Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, and most recently in Delhi. As of January 2016, it has served over 15,000 trips to more than 6,000 customers, of which over 60% are women.

With the raised capital, the startup looks to expand its network to 100,000 drivers in 20-30 cities in a couple of years.

“For the love of animals”

The designations of the three co-founders read – Ramprasad “Rahm” Shastry, Dog-Lover & CEO, Ashok Shastry, Dog-Lover & COO, and Amulmeet Singh, Dog-Lover & CPO. That’s why three dogs are free to roam about in the startup’s office. Besides, the team is doing something for other dogs as well. “We have pledged to donate 1% of our revenue from the get-go to CUPA, a public charitable trust for the welfare of animals,” said Rahm.

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