ixigo-backed Fresh Bus raises $10.5 Mn in Series A round

All-electric intercity bus startup Fresh Bus has raised Rs 87.5 crore ($10.5 million) in Series A funding round led by international early-stage transportation-focused VC fund Maniv, with participation from Shell Ventures, Alteria Capital, and existing investor Riverwalk Holdings.

Last month, Entrackr exclusively reported about Fresh Bus’ new round.

Fresh Bus will utilize the new funds to add 15 routes and deploy 150 new electric buses, the firm said in a press release. Besides scaling ops, the funds will also be deployed towards raising technological capabilities, and strengthening its team.

Fresh Bus was previously backed by notable industry leaders such as CRED founder Kunal Shah, TVS Motors MD Sudarshan Venu, and Rivigo  CEO Deepak Garg. Earlier, the firm also secured Rs 16 crore ($2 million) from public company ixigo.

FreshBus, which offers ticketing, real-time tracking of buses, loyalty program, among other services, was founded by Sudhakar Reddy Chirra. Chirra had built bus aggregator Abhibus which was acquired by ixigo in August 2021 in a cash and stock deal.

The Bengaluru-based company claims to have ferried over 4 lakh passengers to date. According to Chirra, the firm expects to scale to 1000 electric buses pan-India over the next four years.

As per startup data intelligence platform TheKrediblle, FreshBus was a pre-revenue stage firm with a loss of Rs 2.1 crore during FY23. The company is yet to file its annual financial results for FY24.

Fresh Bus competes with IntrCity SmartBus, ZingBus, Yolobus, and gogoBus, among several organized travel agencies across regions.