Nandan Nilekani-backed bus operator is looking for up to $ 70 million for an extension drive

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Nandan Nilekani-backed bus operator is looking for $ 70 million to accelerate its expansion plotity Smartbus, which previously raised $ 4.5 million in its range of C fund-raising rounds of investors in February last year, including Mirabilis Investment Trust and Nandan Nilekani’s Family Trust. Summary Intrcity Smartbus is looking for a higher valuation as it increases capital to finance its expansion, which can allow the Intercitbus operator to succeed with some important milestones. Bengaluru: Intrcity Smartbus, a Noida-based bus operator, wants to raise as much as $ 70 million in series D fundraising of existing and new investors to stimulate its expansion, three people familiar with the developments said. The growth stage daring capital firm A91 partners, who have invested in startups such as sugar beauty drugs, blue Tokai coffee roasts and beverage maker paper boat, are likely to fetch a 15-20% stake in Intrcity Smartbus, they said. ‘The details of the agreement are still being worked out. There is great interest, so more investors can join the round, ‘one of them said. The series D fundraising round will lead to a higher valuation for Intrcity Smartbus, which is currently worth about $ 120 million, the second of the three people said. Intrcity Smartbus, which runs buses on intercity trails (as the name suggests), will use the capital to add 500 buses over the next two years and serve 1 million travelers each month. The company will also use part of the funds to expand the operations of its companion brand Railyatri, this person added. Intrcity Smartbus currently operates more than 300 buses through 30 partner operators on more than 630 routes across 16 states in India, which handles about 300,000 passengers each month. Railyatri, a train booking platform, serves over 14 million users a month. The bus operator previously raised $ 4.5 million in its range of C fund rates of Mirabilis Investment Trust in February last year, with existing investors, including Nandan Nandan Nilekani’s Family Trust, Omidyar Network India and US Ujamama Ventures participating. In general, Intrcity Smartbus has raised about $ 50 million since the inception in 2019. ‘We have ambitious plans for the next two years, and we are working on the best strategy to achieve it. Conversations from both private and public market funds are a regular business use at Intrcity Smartbus, which was in response to the waiver of the money on his money. A91 partners did not respond to Mint’s inquiry on Monday. Read also | Mint Exclusive: KKR looks at its largest Asia Infraronds which is $ 9 billion Boon, India to angle a large disk bus bookings: On the fast Intrcity Smartbus, its turnover, which jumped 70% to £ 540 in 2024-25, to climb up to £ 1,000 crore and add 500 buses and routes added. Manish Rathi said in a statement last month. “While the bus industry in India is three generations, the most important challenge has traditionally ever balanced the scale with profitability. We believe that we are the only player in the industry who has cracked the Profitable Scale Code today – the use of technology, data science and operational compliance as our core empowerers,” Rathi said. The competition in India’s online bus discussion segment is increasing. In December, BP Ventures, the venture capital arm of the British oil and gas giant BP, invested $ 9 million in Intercity bus operator Zingbus in a series of A financing round. In August last year, the Bengaluru-based all-electric bus platform Fresh Bus led $ 10 million in a round by the early-phase daring capital firm Maniv. Peak XV-backed Travel FinTech Company Scapia also ventured into bus travel in July last year with ‘Scapia buses’. Read also | Flipkart on track to open by December 800 dark stores as fast trading between July and September 2024, India’s Intercity bus market had a gross ticket -value of £ 4,000 crore, with more than 5,000 active private bus operators serving 44.78 million passengers, according to Redbus’s India Bustrack. In FY24, Redbus, a bus booking platform owned by online travel platform MakemyTrip Ltd, recorded a gross trade value (GMV) of more than $ 1 billion and a $ 100-103 million turnover, with a growth rate in mid-twenties. The company planned to maintain this growth track in FY25. MakemyTrip’s bus ticket segment rose the revenue from almost 32% to $ 31.8 million in the latest quarter of October-December. The Indian Intercity bus industry is expected to expand £ 1.04 trillion to the value of $ 1.04 billion, according to a report from the Internet and Mobile Association of India and Thornton Bharat, with a compound annual growth of more than 6%. Read also | InvestCorp wins great from CityKart off -ramp after CO capital from A91, TPG | Company Business News captures all corporate news and updates on Live Mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates and live business news. More Topics #Nandan Nilekani Read Next Story