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Chalo Acquires Vogo

CIO Insider Team | Tuesday, 29 March, 2022
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Chalo, a mobile app that allows users to track buses between cities and book bus tickets online, has announced the acquisition of Vogo, a two-wheeler shared mobility startup.

Vogo is transitioning its whole fleet to electric cars as part of the deal, and the business plans to grow beyond two-wheelers and provide various types of EVs to meet market demand, according to a statement. Vogo will continue to be known by the same brand name, thanks to investors such as Matrix Partners, Stellaris Venture Partners, and Ola.

Anand Ayyadurai and Padmanabhan Balakrishnan, the company's founders, will relocate to Chalo, as will the remainder of the Vogo crew.

Vogo will continue to be known by the same brand name, thanks to investors such as Matrix Partners, Stellaris Venture Partners, and Ola. Anand Ayyadurai and Padmanabhan Balakrishnan, the company's founders, will relocate to Chalo, as will the remainder of the crew.

Now we will be able to offer a convenient and cost-effective option for bus passengers to travel to and from bus stops, solving the door-to-door daily commute. This will increase bus ridership and serve our core purpose of making travel more convenient and reliable for all

Ayyadurai will take on a new leadership role at the Chalo group, with Balakrishnan, who was previously Vogo's chief operating officer, taking over as CEO. According to Chalo, Abhimanyu Goyal, who was vice president of engineering, will now be named chief technology officer, while Sharath Parameswaran, vice president of operations and growth, will be named chief business officer.

According to Tracxn data, the corporation has collected $ 180 million thus far.

“Given our shared DNA and values, we are pleased to join forces with the Chalo team,” Padmanabhan Balakrishnan, co-founder and chief executive officer, Vogo. “We have a common vision of solving the daily commute. Vogo democratised access to transport, and with Chalo we take this a step further in serving crores of people who rely on buses. We have already begun our transition to a 100 percent electric fleet and will also expand into new vehicle categories to serve people better.”

Chalo operates in 37 cities in 13 Indian states, including Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Assam.

“This acquisition offers Chalo key strategic gains,” says Vinayak Bhavnani, co-founder and chief technology officer, Chalo. “Now we will be able to offer a convenient and cost-effective option for bus passengers to travel to and from bus stops, solving the door-to-door daily commute. This will increase bus ridership and serve our core purpose of making travel more convenient and reliable for all”.

The Covid-19 pandemic was a setback for shared transportation startups like Vogo and Bounce. In FY21, Bounce's income from the shared mobility business fell by 83 percent. After acquiring 22 motors in November of last year, Bounce has shifted its focus to developing electric scooters. Bounce may be able to make this shift because it raised $105 million from Accel Partners and B Capital at a $520 million value just before the pandemic struck in January 2020.

Yulu, on the other hand, has turned its focus to attracting food delivery executives to use its electric bikes, which do not require a driver's license and go at a slow speed.

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