Radio taxi booking service Bookmycab is planning to raise Rs 40 crore of venture capital by the end of April. LiveMinds Solutions, that owns Bookmycab, is in talks with a number of venture capital firms to raise funds for further expansion.
Bookmycab has raised Rs 5 crore from Your-Nest Angel Fund and Mumbai Angels. The existing investors, who are believed to own between 25 per cent and 30 per cent, will also participate in the new round.
Avinash Gupta, Chief Executive, LiveMinds Solutions, said the company has given the mandate to investment bank Elara Capital. "The sector is growing at a healthy rate and given our positioning in the market, we felt it was the right time to go for a new round of funding," he added.
The proceeds will be used to expand operations outside Mumbai. Currently, the company operates about 3,500 taxis under licence from Maharashtra's State Transport Corporation in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The plan is to have 5,000 taxis by the year-end.
Founded by IIT alumni Gupta, JS Nimbalkar and Raviraj Jain in 2010, the company differs from its peers by offering bookings for regular as well as private-owned cabs, at regular meter prices.