Last-mile logistics firm Exprs snags seed funding

By Joseph Rai

  • 26 Aug 2020
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Last-mile logistics firm Exprs Techno Logistics Pvt Ltd said it has raised Rs 4.2 crore ($566,900) in a seed round of funding led by angel investors Sweta Rau and Sandeep Kapoor.

Rau has previously invested in startups such as Khatabook and Dunzo; and Kapoor, who also sits on the board of Exprs, was earlier director-legal at Sequoia, said Exprs in a statement.

LetsVenture, AngelList and DCF Advisory also participated in this funding round, it added.

The startup had previously raised Rs 2.2 crore in a pre-seed funding round.

Exprs seeks to solve inefficiencies in the entire intra-city and last-mile supply chain. For this, it establishes nano distribution centres in gated communities, tech parks, universities and commute points. 

Exprs has more than 2 million consumers within 500 metres of its nano distribution centres called Exprs Points. It currently has operations in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Chennai.

The startup was founded by Srinivas Madhavam, Srikanth Rajashekhar and Rahul Mehta in 2018. Madhavam had previously started an on-demand logistics company called VDeliver in 2011. The founding team has delivered more than 2 million intra-city orders, the statement said.

In another instance of funding in the last-mile logistics space, LetsTransport raised Rs 13 crore from venture debt firm InnoVen Capital earlier in May.The company had previously raised Rs 100 crore in a Series B round led by Fosun International and Bertelsmann India Investments in December 2018.

On the flip side, earlier this month, Fairfax-controlled Quess Corp board approved the sale of Dependo Logistics Solutions Pvt Ltd in a move to disengage from the last-mile logistics space that it says runs mostly on venture capital cash.

The broader logistics market has been attracting significant venture funding. Earlier this month, FarEye raised an additional $13 million as part of its extended Series D funding round with Nandan Nilekani-led Fundamentum Partnership and South Korean investment firm KB Global joining as new investors.

In May, logistics-tech startup Loadshare pulled in Series B funding from Beenext and CDC.