Gurugram based automobile servicing platform GoMechanic has raised ₹30 crores ($4.28 million) in a Series A round of funding from Sequoia Capital. The funding round in the three-year-old startup could be termed as the very first funding in the online car servicing industry for the calendar year 2019.
Founded by Amit Bhasin, Kushal Karwa and Rishabh Karwa in 2016, the startup boasts of 40 plus workshops in Delhi NCR alone and wishes to spread operations in Indore, Kanpur, and Jaipur now. GoMechanic will use the freshly raised capitals to expand to the aforementioned cities and build a brand by hiring an exquisite team.
Kushal is reportedly in talks with OYO Rooms founder Ritesh Agarwal and Snapadeal co-founder Kunal Bahl to get more capital. The startup also counts Orios Venture Partners and Venture Catalysts as its investors. In December 2016, the GoMechanic raised ₹1.75 crores ($250,000) in seed funding from Venture Catalysts.
GoMechanic helps users book their car services for repair and maintenance online. After a successful booking, the network of car workshops across multiple cities picks and drops back the car at the customer’s doorstep for free. The startup also allows users to use their insurance covers to avail cashless repairs.
The startup provides discounted rates which go up to 40 per cent. This ability to provide great services at such an affordable price comes from its efficiency in procuring parts, minimizing labour costs and saving up on real estate costs. With the economics of scale, the startup has cut down its operational costs.
GoMechanic has partnered with Uber and Meru to provide repair services to the drivers. It has also tied up with insurance marketplaces like Coverfox and Reliance General Insurance to provide instant claim benefits. The company has completed 250,000 car services and has more than 100,000 happy customers.
The startup competes with Pitstop. Though Pitstop and GoMechanic were founded the same year, Pitstop had difficulty to raise funds as large as GoMechanic since their inception. Earlier in April 2018, Pitstop raised ₹18.2 crores ($2.6 million) in pre-series A round from Goldbell Grup and Blume Ventures.
