RailYatri’s parent IntrCity raises $4.5 Mn more in Series C

Mobility platform IntrCity, which owns SmartBus and RailYatri, has raised Rs 37 crore (approximately $4.5 million) more in its Series C round. This round of investment has been led by Mirabilis Investment Trust, and with participation from existing investors – Nandan Nilekani’s family trust, Omidyar Network India, and US-based Ujamaa Ventures.

IntrCity will utilise the funds to enhance product offerings, user acquisition, and go deeper on its hubs routes by providing more offerings to its growing traveler base, the company said in a press release.

As per the startup data intelligent platform TheKredible, the company has been valued at around Rs 912 crore or $110 million after receiving the latest tranche of this round. IntrCity has raised over $50 million to date. 

IntrCity offers both train and bus services to budget travelers. While its flagship brand IntrCity SmartBus provides travel options around India’s long-distance routes, its companion brand RailYatri provides comprehensive train travel information, serving more than 15 million per month.

IntrCity SmartBus operates across more than 630 routes such as Delhi–Lucknow, Delhi–Kanpur, Mumbai–Pune, Bengaluru–Hyderabad, and Chennai–Coimbatore in 16 states.

RailYatri has also launched a ‘flexi-ticket’ feature that allows users to make last-minute changes to their plans when finding a reservation on trains isn’t available.

Co-founded by Kapil Raizada, Manish Rathi, and Sachin Saxena, the company makes more than 90% of its revenue via roadway operations while the remaining part came from commissioning and advertising publicity.

In an interview with Entrackr, Raizada had claimed that one-third of IntrCity’s transactions come from its website and application, while the rest is tapped from aggregators and offline channels (read as organized agents).

RailYatri’s revenue from operations surged 2.3X to Rs 273.7 crore during FY23 from Rs 117.2 crore in FY22. The company managed to control its losses which shrank 58.6% to Rs 18.18 crore in FY23 from Rs 43.87 crore in FY22. The firm claims to have achieved EBITDA profitability in the ongoing fiscal year.