Car repair and service provider, Pitstop, on Tuesday said that it has raised $3.5 million as a part of its pre-series-B led by Ventureast, as it looks to expand its presence across the country.
The funding also saw participation from insurtech startup ACKO Technologies, LetsVenture, AngelList India, Blume Ventures, among others.
ACKO Technologies had also made a strategic investment of $1.2 million in the company, back in September, last year.
According to Pitstop, it will deploy the fund from its current fundraise to strengthen its end-to-end car maintenance operations in existing cities and further expand its services to 20 additional cities by the end of 2021.
As part of this expansion, Pitstop will be adding 250 service vans, which are its primary mode of delivering car maintenance and service. Pitstop will also be enrolling 350 garages to build the required geographical penetration into each new city. Pitstop is currently fully operational in 5 cities including the national capital region (NCR).
“Our goal has always been to provide a hassle-free and seamless doorstep car servicing experience. And, the Pitstop app complements our goal by providing a one-stop solution for customers looking to get their car serviced, repaired, and maintained. The current capital infusion will enable us to strengthen our operations in the existing locations and at the same time tap the rich talent pool available in India” said Mihir Mohan, Founder, Pitstop.
Five-year-old Pitstop provides home car servicing and works with existing local multi-brand car service providers, helping them with reskilling, training, and giving them access to equipment and OEM spare parts.
Over 50% of Pitstop’s existing garage partners now source their spare parts from its platform, the company said.
“Pitstop is pioneering a new paradigm in the automotive after-sales market as a one-stop solution for auto service needs, including their signature doorstep and roadside emergency services. Ventureast is excited to be partnering with Pitstop as it scales its operations pan-India and integrates the critical supply chain in its operations,” said Siddhartha Das, general partner, Ventureast.
Last year, Pitstop witnessed an average monthly growth of 40%, with a significant portion of its customer base coming from the IT corridors and suburbs, which has a higher density of non-local population, the company added.