Merisis advises Truebil on US$14 mn funding round fromJoe Hirao & others

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Mumbai-based online marketplace for pre-owned cars Truebil has raised a fresh investment of Rs 100 core ($14 million at current exchange rates) in a mix of equity and debt, a company statement said.The round was led by Japanese investor Joe Hirao, the founder of multi-business firm ZIGExN, the statement added. Existing investors Kalaari Capital, Inventus Capital, Kae Capital, Chinese venture capital firm Shunwei Capital and San Francisco-based Tekton Ventures have also put in money.With this round, the company has raised a total of Rs 160 crore so far.

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Merisis Advisors served as the financial adviser to Truebil for this investment.Truebil was founded in March 2015 by former Housing.com employees Suraj Kalwani, Ravi Chirania, Shubh Bansal, Rakesh Raman and Shanu Vivek, along with former Fab.com executive Ritesh Pandey and former Rio Tinto official Himanshu Singhal.The venture runs an online portal to sell pre-owned cars and offers services such as affordable car loans, paper transfer, warranty servicing, emergency roadside assistance and insurance renewal. It vets used cars, prepares inspection reports and uploads photographs of dents or scratches so that buyers can shortlist their preferred choice for purchase.

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“We are currently selling over 600 cars per month and with our strong tech backbone, we are making aggressive strides towards becoming the numero uno used car retailer platform in India,” Kalwani, chief executive of Truebil, said.According to information available on its website, the company has tied up with Tata Capital and other lenders to ensure easy financing of pre-owned cars in the form of affordable equated monthly instalments. Besides, it provides comprehensive car insurance with zero depreciation for pre-owned vehicles.The company currently operates in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru.

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Of the $14 million, the startup has raised $4.35 million in three tranches through a mix of equity and debt between October and November last year.In February 2017, the company secured $3 million in a follow-on Series A funding round from Shunwei Capital. In January 2016, it raised $5.5 million (Rs 35 crore) in its Series A round led by Kalaari Capital, Inventus Capital, Kae Capital and Tekton Ventures. Hirao is also an investor in Droom, the online marketplace for new and used vehicles founded by Sandeep Aggarwal, former founder at Shopclues. The family office of Hirao led Droom’s $30-million Series E funding round in October 2018.Jaipur-based Girnar Software Pvt. Ltd, which owns auto portal CarDekho.com, recently closed its Series C funding round of $110 million. The round was led by Sequoia Capital’s global growth fund and private-sector lender Axis Bank. Other investors who put in money included Hillhouse Capital, Ratan Tata's RNT Associates and CapitalG, formerly known as Google Capital.