ChatPay Commerce Pvt. Ltd, which operates car-service startup Pitstop, has raised $2.5 million (approximately Rs 18.52 crore at current exchange rates) in its Series A round of funding.
The round has been led by Group Landmark, an Ahmedabad-based automobile dealership that had raised funding from TPG Growth in 2014. Existing investors also participated in the round, Pitstop said in a statement.
The Bengaluru-based startup said it will use the funds to expand its geographical presence and add more garages and service vans to its platform. It is aiming for a presence in 15 cities by the end of the year, with a targeted network of over 1,000 garages and 1,500 vans.
Mihir Mohan, founder and CEO at Pitstop, said that the company was focussing on insights into consumer convenience requirements and standardising the delivery of services and parts across its garage network.
“Our decision to invest in Pitstop’s growth is backed by their ability to create a unified, differentiated and consistent car ownership experience across the consumer lifecycle,” Group Landmark said, adding that it would also provide strategic and operational help to Pitstop.
Pitstop was launched in 2015 by Mohan, who is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur. The firm offers car-related services including regular service, mechanical and electrical repair, body repair and doorstep inspection.
Some of its backers include Blume Ventures and the Singapore-based Goldbell Group.
In April 2018, the firm raised $1.6 million (Rs 10.6 crore) in a pre-Series A round of funding from Goldbell Group and Blume Ventures. In September 2017, it also raised another $1 million (around Rs 6.4 crore) from Blume, Goldbell and a group of angel investors.
In March that year, the company acquired MotorWhiz, a mobile platform for car service and repair jobs, in a cash-and-stock deal. Pitstop currently maintains a presence in cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad.
Other startups in the car maintenance and servicing space include the Targetone Innovations Pvt. Ltd-run GoMechanic, which in December last year raised $14.7 million (around Rs 105 crore) in a Series B funding round. That capital raising exercise was led by existing investors Chiratae Ventures and Sequoia Capital. Another existing backer – Orios Venture Partners – also participated.
