Bike-cum-taxi startup Bikxie raises Rs 2 Cr from GEMs Partners, others

Delhi-NCR-based bike taxi service start-up Bikxie has raised an investment of around Rs 2 crore from GEMs Partners and Sachin Khandelwal, ex-Honda Cars and ICICI Bank Vehicle Loans Head in a fresh round of funding.

Two years ago, the bike-cum-taxi firm had raised an undisclosed amount of angel investment from an investment banker in the Middle East and a businessman based in South India.

The startup will use the fresh proceeds to upgrade its technology and infrastructure, besides expansion of operations to other cities.

Founded by Mohit Sharma, Divya Kalia, and Dennis Ching in January 2016, Bikxie is a tech-enabled licensed Bike taxi service for male and female commuters. Currently, the service is operational in Gurugram and Faridabad.

Bikxie’s all-female service “Bikxie Pink” (dedicated service for female customer driven by female pilots) has received tremendous response from female customers and media.

Bikxie app has amassed over 10,000 downloads, with key features like per sq.km economics, in-built safety and tracking of the bikes.

In India, bike taxis are finding it tough to operate. Most of the players in major markets like Bengaluru and Gurugram, that started over the past few years, have shut down.
While only a few states provide for commercial bike-taxi licenses, the lack of clarity on regulations is not the only reason for these failures.

Also Read: Bike taxi cum last mile delivery startup NOW bags funding from Hero Electric’s promoters

The poorly funded local players have not been able to match the heavy subsidies offered to customers and drivers by players like Uber and Ola.

Uber has been pumping in huge amount to push the service (uberMOTO) in the Indian market. Home-grown Ola, Uber’s main rival, has also launched its bike-taxi service (Ola Bikes) and is present in 11 cities, including Mohali, Ludhiana, Amritsar, and Hyderabad.

In September, Bengaluru-based Bike taxi company Rapido was in acquisition talks with Hyderabad-based motorcycle-sharing startup Getbike. The deal will help Rapido enter Hyderabad by leveraging on Getbike’s infrastructure and market presence.

Bikxie: Website