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Bangalore-based on-demand delivery service startup, MagicTiger, has acquired Instano, a B2C ecommerce app offering on-demand delivery of services over chat.
As the part of deal, core team of Instano i.e Rajesh Ranjan, Rakesh Krishna Andey and Vedant Agarwala will join the MagicTiger.
Founded in 2014, Instano is a chat-based virtual assistant app allowing users to message his/her requirement. It could be anything – from plumber to car mechanic, or dairy to grocery, etc.
For instance, if one’s car broke down in the middle of the road, than he can text on Instano saying “Hi, my car broke down. Can you arrange a mechanic for me?” First, the order confirmation is received from the vendor, and then the location is confirmed from the consumer.
The facility is available 24×7 and the delivery time is around 30 minutes; besides, it also charges a delivery fee of a minimum INR 20. The company cater to over 800+ users on Whatsapp and 400+ users through its app.
The startup has been funded by Jazeel Badur Ferry, Nazeem Zishan and Mohammed Saud, founders of Eventifier.
Speaking on the development, Pratyush Prasanna, co-founder of MagicTiger said, “Instano was one of our best competitors and had good focus on operations as well as quality. We realized that a lot more could be done together than separately.”
MagicTiger was founded in May this year by Pratyush Prasanna, Arun Kumar and Srinivas Anumolu. It is a messaging on-demand platform that provides an option to buy or allows consumers to ask anything for which they will provide the best possible solution.
The company has already acquired 2 startups since its inception. In October, MagicTiger acquired Zoyo, an artificial intelligence-based platform that allows users to shop over chat, in a cash-and-stock deal. Prior to that, in July, it had acquired another Bangalore-based on-demand delivery startup GoDeliver. As part of the deal, the co-founders of GoDeliver, Gaurav Bhaghel and Piyush Mishra joined MagicTiger to lead technology.
MagicTiger has a team of about 40 employees, which excludes a small logistics team that works from a separate company. The startup has partnered with players like Roadrunnr and JoMaange for deliveries.
Beside, the company is also planning to expand its operations to more cities with the new funding of $10 Mn that it plans to raise in the next three months.
Other players in this space include chat-based delivery platforms like Goodservice and GetYana.
Instano was among the top 5 startups at Inc42’s StartupPulse Bangalore’s first edition.
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