Airlift secured more than Rs 186 crore in funding and honestly, MashAllah.
Airlift makes everyday commuting easier by allowing users to book rides on air-conditioned buses and vans in Lahore and Karachi, once they’ve signed up. This eleven-month-old decentralized mass set up has secured $12 million or Rs 1.2 crore in Series A financing.
This is one of the largest sums raised in South Asia this year!
Congrats to @rideairlift team on securing $12M series A financing, led by @firstround a leading US VC with notable investments in Uber, Square and Looker. Indus Valley Capital and I have been believers from the early days when they were doing 80 rides/day
— Aatif Awan (@aatif_awan) November 2, 2019
A statement issued by the company states the following:
“Airlift is spearheading the third wave of ride-sharing, in which higher capacity vehicles are playing an increasing role in enabling urban commute. With this financing, Airlift is looking to invest in technology and operations to scale its vision for a decentralized mass transit system, initially focusing on the developing world.”
It’s the first time that the US-based Venture Capital has led a round in Pakistan, and this First Round Capital has made notable investments in Uber, Square, Roblox, Looker, and Notion. This largest Series A marks one of the largest financings in South Asia. The round was also joined by Fatima Gobi Ventures, a joint venture between one of Pakistan’s leading conglomerates Fatima Group and Gobi Partners, and Indus Valley Capital.
Series A financing refers to an investment in a privately-held, start-up company after it has shown progress in building its business model and demonstrates the potential to grow and generate revenue.
Airlift was founded by Usman Gul, Ahmed Ayub, Awaab Khaakwany, Meher Farrukh, Muhammad Owais, and Zohaib Ali.
It is a mobile app that’s available for both, Android and iOS and enables users to sign up and then log in to avail the services. The commuting services are available for Lahore and Karachi, and the premium quality buses and vans have fixed routes and stops.
Airlift’s co-founder and CEO says, “In the future, mass transit systems will be dynamic in nature, catering and adapting to the changing needs of the urban population. Our vision for a decentralized mass transit system is a new concept, one that will fundamentally redefine how people commute in urban centers.”
This huge funding definitely seems like the beginning of an era for Airlift services. After huge success for Uber and Careem, Airlift now seems to sweep away users and with a funding amount like this, it seems quite possible. Have you used Airlift services? What are your views? Let us know in the comments below!
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Cover image via: cdn.techjuice.pk