Namma Yatri raises $11 Mn from Blume, Antler, Google, and others

Moving Tech, the company that operates community-led mobility apps Namma Yatri, Yatri Sathi, Yatri, and Mana Yatri, has raised $11 million (Rs 92 crore approximately) in a pre-Series A funding round from Blume Ventures and Antler, Google and other investors.

This is the maiden venture funding for the Bengaluru-based company.

Namma Yatri aims to invest the fund in technology, R&D and product innovations towards its vision to empower drivers, integrate public transport and improve customer convenience, the company said in a press release.  Through direct-to-driver and multimodal transportation models, the firm also aims to increase driver earnings while providing reliable, affordable, seamless, and sustainable mobility solutions.

In April, payments firm Juspay spun off its ride-hailing subsidiary, Namma Yatri, into a separate entity called Moving Tech Innovations Limited. The new entity is being headed by Juspay's chief growth officer Shan M S and chief product officer Magizhan Selvan.

Moving Tech launched Namma Yatri in Bengaluru in 2022. Namma Yatri and its family of apps are fully open-source, with open data metrics, and part of the ONDC Network as well. 

"With our people-first approach, our goal is to build empathetic products and tech that are 10x better. By collaborating with Samaaj (Community), Sarkar (Government), and Bazaar (Business), we aspire to create an impact similar to UPI in India and Linux worldwide. This funding will enable us to innovate and grow further, said Magizhan Selvan and Shan M S in a joint statement.

With a user base of 7 million and 400,000 drivers, Moving Tech is live in 8 cities and towns and claims to have facilitated 46 million trips.

Namma Yatri recently introduced zero-commission auto and cab rentals in Bengaluru and Chennai and has plans to expand the service to Delhi-NCR. The move will help it to take on the company’s rivals and market leaders – Ola, Rapido and Uber. Rapido and Uber also launched a zero commission model for auto drivers.