Vogo raises $11.5 million from existing investors, to focus on growth and EV expansion

Vogo said the funds will be used for expansion and electrification of its fleet and bolster current execution capabilities to achieve profitability.

Vogo, a Bengaluru-based two-wheeler rental service provider, on Thursday said it had raised $11.5 million as an extension of series C round from its existing investors including Lightrock, Kalaari, Matrix Partners and Stellaris Venture Partners.

The startup said it would use the funding to expand and electrify the fleet. It also aims to achieve profitability by improving unit economics and asset utilisation. It hopes to accomplish the profitability goal by the end of this year.

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Vogo was founded in 2016 by the alumni of IITs and IIMs - Anand Ayyadurai, Padmanabhan Balakrishnan and Sanchit Mitta. Apart from the above-mentioned investors, Vogo is backed by Ola Cabs as well.

The startup says it uses cutting edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Internet of Things to offer its rental services. Since 2016, it claims to have served more than 10 million rides covering about 130 million kilometres. The startup currently offers its services in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. It claims to have about 3 million registered users.

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Vogo further said that it had registered an “overwhelming response” and “strong month-on-month growth” in the two cities.

“We are delighted to see the team at VOGO demonstrate resilience and come out of a tough year stronger made possible by clarity of vision, backed by strong execution and an ethos focused on creating value. We continue to support them despite the uncertainty in funding in the sector because we believe this is the team that has the vision and execution to build a large mobility platform for the Indian customer,” Vaidhehi Ravindran of Lightrock, said in a release.

The two-wheeler rental space has drawn a big interest from the investors in the last couple of years. A Venture Intelligence report reveals micro-mobility startups raised $157 million in venture capital investment in 2019. Between January-August 2020, the sector drew $139 million in funding.

Just in January this year, Bengaluru-based Bounce raised $105 million in a funding round that was co-led by existing investors Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital and Accel Partners. The latest funding round valued Bounce at a little over $500 million, according to a TechCrunch report.