Shunwei Capital chooses Truebil to make its maiden investment in India
Truebil had previously raised $5.5M (INR 35 crore) in Series A funding and plans leverage the freshly acquired capital to intensify its expansion and strengthen its technological infrastructure
Mumbai, 16th February, 2017: Truebil, India’s only curated, authentic and verified marketplace for pre-owned cars has successfully concluded its follow-on Series A funding round. The marketplace has secured an investment of $3 million from China’s leading Venture Capital Fund Shunwei Capital.
Shunwei Capital was founded in 2011 by Jun Lei and Tuck Lye KOH and manages over 2 billion in US dollars across five funds. Shunwei’s key focus is on mobile internet and IoT. Specifically, opportunities where internet and technology fundamentally disrupt how businesses and services are conducted in traditional industry verticals. Shunwei primarily invest in early and growth stage startups.
Tuck Lye Koh, CEO and Founding Partner, Shunwei Capital said, “The Indian start-up landscape has exhibited exceptional growth across industries and this trend is likely to continue as the focus shifts on sustainability and unit economics. For our debut investment in this vibrant market, we were looking to join hands with a venture that has a robust business model, is catering to a real consumer need and is backed by a superior team and tech infrastructure. Truebil fits the bill perfectly and we are certain that with the freshly infused capital, the company will build on its expertise and widen the consumer base it reaches out to with its dynamic offerings.”
With rapid expansion plans on the cards, Truebil plans to utilize the present funding to intensify its operations, invest in skill development and bolster the technological infrastructure of the company. Truebil had previously raised seed fund of $500,000 from Kae Capital and angel investor Anupam Mittal, Founder and CEO of People Group. The company raised $5.5M (INR 35 Crore) in Series A funding led by Kalaari Capital, Inventus Capital, Kae Capital, and Tekton Ventures. Truebil has been leveraging the capital to expand its reach and services. It has recently rolled out its operations in Bengaluru and, launched Truebil Direct – an offline platform for pre-owned cars based on the full stack inventory model. Truebil also launched its B2C dealer digitization platform ‘Truebil Privilege Partner’.
Talking about the growth plans, Suraj Kalwani, Co-founder and CEO, Truebil said, “We are looking towards doing everything possible to provide our users better services and enable them in making informed decisions related to car ownership. We will be using the proceeds of this recently-closed round of funding primarily towards skill development and augmenting the technological infrastructure of the company. Further, by associating with Shunwei Capital, we will be able to gain invaluable insights which will certainly be a big boost for our overall vision for the growth and expansion of Truebil.”
Commenting on the announcement, Shubh Bansal Co-founder and Chief of Marketing at Truebil said, “As we’re about to roll out more consumer-centric products, securing funds at this stage has been a real shot in the arm for us. We would like to thank our investors for showing confidence in Truebil’s business model and facilitating adequate investment in the company. This investment will further drive the expansion of our operations and will become the defining block in unprecedented business activity for Truebil. More than the funds, however, it is the strategic guidance and mentorship that Shunwei Capital brings to the table that will be pivotal for us at this stage of our growth story.”
About Truebil
Incepted on March 2015, Truebil is India’s only curated, authentic and verified marketplace for pre-owned cars. Based out of Mumbai, it aims to make the process of buying and selling pre-owned automobiles surprisingly easy by posting pictures and detailed inspection report of the car on its platform, while the buyers can shortlist the cars online and avail end-to-end services of the entire buying process. The objective of the transaction-centric platform is to eliminate hassle and inefficiency caused during car purchases from the used automobile ecosystem and ensures absolute transparency to the buyers. In 2016, the company has also introduced full stack model Truebil Direct that maintains inventory by buying the used cars upfront from the sellers and getting them refurbished before listing them on its marketplace for the premium buyers. The company also announced launch of its services in Bangalore in September 2016.