Indian self-driving car rental startup, Revv, is ready to go to the next level with nearly $15 million investment.
Revv, the Gurugram, India-based self-driving car rental startup, has raised $14.27 million from South Korean automaking giant Hyundai Motor Company in a round of Series B funding. Other participants in this round of funding include already existing investors, Edelweiss Financial Services and Beenext, as well as new investors Dream Incubator, Telama Investment, and Sunjay Kapur (CEO of Sona Group Ltd).
Revv had earlier raised an undisclosed amount in 2015 from angel investors Ananth Narayanan and McKinsey & Company, as well as an undisclosed amount in debt financing from Mahindra Finance and Leaseplan, and $9 million in a round of Series A funding in December 2016.
Revv was founded in 2015 by Anupam Agarwal and Karan Jain. The company is focused on innovating and challenging the current standards in the field of self-driving technology, while also creating products suited especially for its Indian consumer base.
Revv plans to use the funding from this latest round of investing to increase the number of products it is offering for both on-demand and long-term use. It also plans to fortify its technology team and build up brand awareness. The startup anticipates expanding its geographical footprint to thirty cities over the course of the next twelve months.
With its investment, Hyundai will take a big role in Revv by working to co-develop Revv’s new growth engine and developing mobility services under an open innovation strategy by integrating technologies such as autonomous driving and artificial intelligence within the sharing economy.
Y. K. Koo, the managing director and CEO at Hyundai Motor India Limited, said of the investment, “Hyundai Motor India has been growing rapidly with its outstanding performance and has become a strong market leader in India. We are just about to step forward and expand our business into the future mobility field with Revv. Hyundai Motor India will build a prominent system with both ‘Open Innovation’ strategy and India’s fastest growing self-drive car-sharing company, Revv.”
Revv has made use of innovative concepts such as instant booking and doorstep delivery in car-sharing since its inception.
Revv’s founders said, “During the past three years of our existence, we have stayed focused on delivering great customer experience through a combination of innovative products suited to the varied needs of users. Strong traction with our users and thoughtful use of technology, e.g. an artificial-intelligence based driver assistance system that dramatically improves users’ safety, has helped us scale rapidly.”