Matrix Partners India invests in scooter-sharing company Vogo

Bengaluru, India '“ August 14, 2018: Matrix Partners India announced today, that it has co-invested in Vogo, India's first automated scooter sharing platform for short haul commute. The Series A funding round led by ANI Technologies (Ola), also saw participation from Hero MotoCorp Chairman, Pawan Munjal, Stellaris Venture Partners, as well as individual investors including, Aprameya Radhakrishna (Founder, TaxiForSure), Rajesh Yabaji (Founder, Blackbuck) and Mayank Bidawatka (Founder, Goodbox).

Vogo is a dockless scooter rental company which lets customers rent scooters for short one way trips at various locations across the city. The app enables users to locate, unlock and pick-up its scooters and bikes at one point, and drop it off at a different point, without the need for a docking station. Every Vogo scooter comes with an OTP based IoT sensor, that allows customers to access the key without the need for any human intervention, and start their ride seamlessly. The company currently present in Bangalore and Hyderabad, plans to add over 1000 pickup points across Bangalore and Hyderabad in the coming year.

Anand Ayyadurai, Founder and CEO, Vogo, said, "Vogo was founded with a vision to revolutionise the existing transportation ecosystem in India, with a locally relevant solution that's apt for a quick, inexpensive movement. Our goal is to make a Vogo scooter available in every nook and corner of the country that's plagued with issues like traffic congestion, pollution and growing population. We've been working with the authorities since the launch of our operations late last year, to make this a reality in a vast majority of areas in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and the response has been quite overwhelming.' He further added, "Success of our Series A funding round signals the trust and confidence our investors have in our vision. We see this partnership with Ola as a great strategic fit, and aim to leverage their products, technology and operations infrastructure, to better suit our customers' needs.'

Scooter-sharing is yet another way to move people across cities and offers a fresh, new alternative to public transportation. It represents a promising new growth market, that complements traditional transit, and adds a whole new meaning to first and last mile commute. The segment has received an overwhelming response from customers across the globe, and underscores a continuing shift in the way the world is travelling and experimenting with a new age mode of commute that's light on the pocket. Their trips average about 4 km per ride and make for an ideal first and last mile commute in Indian cities like Bengaluru, that are plagued by traffic congestion.

Sandeep Divakaran, Vice President, Ola, said, "Mobility as an ecosystem in India provides immense opportunity to innovators to solve hyperlocal problems using technology and make everyday transportation convenient and affordable. As the country's leading mobility platform, we are proud to have played a transformational role in building a robust and holistic transportation ecosystem at scale for millions of Indians. Vogo, a young innovator in the space is adding an effective layer to the first and last mile connectivity needs with its self-drive scooters. Their offering resonates with our vision and we are thrilled to be a part of their journey of providing smart and pocket-friendly transportation."

Ritesh Banglani, Partner, Stellaris Venture Partners said, "Short haul and last mile commuting is an unsolved problem in mass transportation in India. We believe Vogo can both increase the reach of public transport, as well as provide an affordable alternative for areas not yet serviced by it.'

"The rise in urban congestion requires a transformation in the way India commutes. Vogo's localized approach of creating a scooter sharing network through an automated, convenient and cost effective model represents one such transformation. We are privileged to partner with Vogo on this journey, and look forward to working closely with them.' commented Tarun Davda, Managing Director, Matrix India.

About Vogo:
Founded in 2016, by Anand Ayyadurai, Padmanabhan Balakrishnan and Sanchit Mittal, Vogo offers a cost-effective quicker alternative to existing forms of transport. Vogo users can access scooters from designated pickup and drop points across Bangalore and Hyderabad and drop the scooter at any other point in the city. Vogo leverages innovative inhouse hardware that gets attached to the scooter, allowing the customer to access the key without any human interaction and be on their way. Using the Vogo mobile app, more than 27000 users have commuted for over 6 million kilometres.

About Founders:
Anand : An MBA from IIM Ahmedabad with experience of over 10 years across multiple industries. At Flipkart, he was an Associate Director and built the home entertainment business and the returns & exchange ecosystem from scratch. (https://in.linkedin.com/in/anandayyadurai)

Sanchit: An engineer from IIT Bombay, Sanchit was one of the first frontend engineers at Housing.com and then was VP of engineering at a Singapore based startup, Getklarity. He singlehandedly built a productivity app in his free time which has over a million users till date (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanchitmittal)

Padmanabhan: An MBA from ESSEC, Paris, Paddy has experience of 7 years across Flipkart, Amazon, Lazada and Zoomcar. At Flipkart, he built the ecosystem for working capital and profitability of multiple categories focused on customer acquisition from scratch. (https://in.linkedin.com/in/padmanabhanb)


About Ola:
Founded in 2011 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola is one of the world's largest ride-hailing companies. Ola integrates city transportation for customers and driver-partners onto a mobile technology platform ensuring convenient, transparent, and quick service fulfilment. Ola is focused on leveraging the best of technology and building innovative solutions ground-up, that are relevant at global scale. Notably, in 2016, Ola Play '“ the world's first connected car platform for ride-sharing '“ was launched, transforming commuting experiences and setting the tone for global innovation in this space. Using the Ola mobile app, users across 110+ cities, can connect with over a million drivers across cabs, auto-rickshaws, and taxis. Driven by a hyperlocal approach, Ola is committed to its mission of building mobility for a billion people.

About Matrix Partners India:
Matrix Partners India is an investment firm with INR 4,500 crores under management. Founded in 2006, the firm invests in companies targeting the Indian consumer and enterprise market at the seed, early and early growth stages. Matrix India has invested in several market leading companies such as Ola (local transportation), Quikr (online classifieds), Practo (digital health platform), Dailyhunt (mobile local language platform), Treebo (digital hotel chain), Mswipe (mobile POS), Five Star Business Finance (SME lending), Razorpay (payments), OfBusiness (credit led B2B marketplace), and Belong (recruitment platform) among others. Matrix India has advisory offices in Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai. Matrix Partners has a global network of funds investing in the US, China and India with US $4 billion under management. Further information is available at www.matrixpartners.in