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    Zoomcar gets $92 million in SternAegis-led round

    Synopsis

    The funding comes ahead of the company’s proposed plans to list in the US via a SPAC listing over the next nine to 12 months.

    zoomcarETtech
    Greg Moran, CEO and cofounder of Zoomcar
    Zoomcar has raised $92 million through a private sale of shares to investors, led by SternAegis Ventures with participation from international family offices and institutional investors, the self-drive car rental company said in a news release Monday.

    “Zoomcar intends to use the proceeds from this financing to grow its car-sharing marketplace in India and various select markets across Asia and the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region,” it said.

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    The funding comes ahead of Zoomcar’s proposed listing in the US as a special purpose acquisition company in the next nine to 12 months. Such special purpose companies are formed strictly to raise capital through initial public offerings.

    According to the release, the company expects to increase investments across IoT, machine learning and computer vision-related applications to transform its user experience.

    “The company also expects to significantly strengthen its enterprise software offerings to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and insurance companies,” the release said.

    “This successful crossover financing is a milestone for Zoomcar as we enter the next phase of our international growth and position the company to enter the public equity markets,” chief executive Greg Moran said.

    Founded in 2013 by Moran and David Back, Zoomcar has so far raised $291.7 million from investors such as Sequoia Capital, Mahindra & Mahindra and Ford Smart Mobility, a unit of Ford Motor, across debt and equity.

    It recently expanded into Southeast Asia and the MENA region to create a global car-sharing platform.

    “Zoomcar sits at the intersection of several powerful global trends across urban mobility. At SternAegis, we’re delighted to support the impressive Zoomcar team in fulfilling their vision of creating the best car sharing experience across the world’s fastest growing, most dynamic markets,” said Adam Stern, CEO of SternAegis Ventures.

    The company is expected to post an annualised revenue run rate of $100 million for the current financial year.

    SternAegis acted as the exclusive placement agent for this offering and ThinkEquity acted as special adviser.

    Zoomcar has almost 10,000 cars on its platform. It allows individuals to rent from a diverse pool of cars by the hour or by the day. In 2020, Zoomcar launched Zoomcar Mobility Services, the company’s enterprise SaaS-based mobility solutions, offering fully supported subscription services and IoT-based driver behaviour monitoring solutions.
    The Economic Times

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