Local transport tech app, Chalo has raised $7 Million in a fresh round of funding. Investors onboard the round included existing investors Raine Ventures, an early-stage fund managed by The Raine Group, USA; Neeraj Arora, former Chief Business Officer, WhatsApp; and Amit Singhal, former SVP & Head of Google Search, Google. Additionally the family offices of Saket Burman of Dabur, and Tarun Sawhney of Triveni Group also participated in the round.

Based in Mumbai, the Chalo app tracks buses live and provides contactless payment solutions with an aim to transform bus travel into a safer experience. The app is operated by Zophop Technologies Pvt Ltd and is available across 30 major Indian cities such as Agra, Bhopal, Indore, Kanpur, Kolkata, Kochi etc.

Founded in 2014 by Mohit Dubey, Nikhil Aggarwal and Vinayak Bhavnani, the firm has so far raised a total funding of $30 million. The fresh capital will be used by Chalo to expand its network into multiple cities and increase the penetration of digital tickets technology in its existing cities.

Mohit Dubey, CEO, Chalo believes that like in several developing countries, buses are non-discretionary. They provide people with the most affordable means to commute and are fundamental for the cities’ economy and revival. “Chalo digitises these buses and makes them safe and reliable - with live tracking and contactless digital payment,” said Mohit.

He further added, “We are building a unique company to improve the experience in stage-carriage buses using a full tech stack. We are fortunate to have amazing investors who have partnered with us to build a better public transport solution for cities in India. We will soon be doing this in international cities as well”.