Exclusive: Ixigo-backed FreshBus kicks off Series A round

Ixigo-backed EV bus startup FreshBus has raised Rs 43.7 crore  (approximately $5.3 million) in its Series A round. This is the first round of funding for the Bengaluru-based company this year.

The board at Fresh Bus has passed a special resolution to issue 2 equity shares and 63,825 CCPS at an issue price of Rs 6,845 each to raise Rs 43.7 crore or $5.3 million, its regulatory filing accessed from the Registrar of Companies (RoC) shows.

Maniv Mobility led the round with Rs 35.68 crore while the remaining sum has been invested by Riverwalk Holdings during the Series A round.

The company was in discussions to raise Rs 100 crore in its Series A round. This appears to be an ongoing fundraising and the company is likely to mop up more funds in this round.

According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Fresh Bus has been valued at around $20 million (post-allotment) in this round. The valuation may vary with the further capital injection.

FreshBus has raised around $9 million to date including Rs 7.5 crore from Kunal Shah, TVS Motors MD Sudarshan Venu, and Rivigo CEO and founder Deepak Garg in October last year.

FreshBus was founded by Sudhakar Reddy Chirra, who earlier built bus aggregator Abhibus which was acquired by ixigo in August 2021 in a cash and stock deal.

According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKrediblle, the company was still in pre-revenue stage with a loss of Rs 2.1 crore during the fiscal year ending March 2023. The company is yet to file its annual financial results for FY24.