Tech-logistics start-up Blowhorn raises funds in fresh round

September 17, 2019: Bengaluru-headquartered, intra-city tech-logistics company Catbus Infolabs Pvt. Ltd that operates Blowhorn.com has raised an undisclosed amount in a fresh round of funding.

Existing investors Chiratae Ventures and Dell Foundation, as well as new investors that include Venture Catalysts, James Lee Sorenson and Japanese VC firm, Dream Incubator participated in the funding round, which was led by a prominent undisclosed investor.

Eto Munehiko, MD of Dream Incubator India, said, “Blowhorn’s deep domain expertise enables it to achieve high margins while remaining capital efficient. Our investment rationale was the differentiation that Blowhorn brings to the table by providing full-stack tech solution and at-par service levels, becoming the go-to partner for both corporates and SMEs. With our expertise in both investments and strategy consulting in Asia, we will help Blowhorn as a strategic partner with geographic expansion and business planning. In India, we have made 20+ investments in the space of Health, Finance, Media & Entertainment, Mobility and more. We will continue investing in promising start-ups in the future.”

Blowhorn connects logistics service seekers with mini-truck drivers through the website and mobile app. It provides a full-stack service offering through an asset-light model.

Mithun Srivatsa, CEO of Blowhorn, said, "We closed our fundraise to optimise speed and momentum to keep building a category-defining company. Now, with a strong core team in place, we are expanding rapidly and are seeing significant growth in our recently launched verticals. Our goal is to be active across more than 100 cities across India by 2021, and we are on track to achieve that. We are also in the final stages of executing our first international foray, and we are very excited about it. Our margin profile remains healthy and has grown 30 percent over the last quarter."

"We are in active conversations with several parties interested in leading a larger round that we anticipate will close within the next 6 to 9 months. We believe that we have built a solid foundation and that we are still in the 1st innings of the intra-city logistics game", added Mithun.

Founded in 2014, Blowhorn currently has 25,000 driver partners on its platform and operates in over 30 cities. It offers a broad suite of services from the first mile, middle mile, and last mile while handling goods from 1g to 1T.

Dr Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, president and co-founder, Venture Catalysts, said, “The mini-truck transportation market in India is estimated to be at a valuation of Rs30,000 to Rs60,000 crore annually. Additionally, the granting of industry status to the logistics sector has further enhanced the ease of accessing finance and extended other opportunities to players in the sector. Blowhorn has been doing some exceptional work in the domain, and we are certain the current round of investment will go a long way in empowering the company to expand and enrich its operations.”