Pakistan-based transportation startup, Airlift, has raised $2.2 million in a recently concluded seed round. According to Airlift’s co-founder and CEO Usman Gul in a discussion with menabytes, the round was co-led by one of Pakistan’s largest conglomerates Fatima Group (through its VC arm) and Indus Valley Capital, a Pakistan-focused VC founded by former LinkedIn executive Aatif Awan.
The round which was also joined by many leading local individual investors, including Yasser Bashir, Abbas Yousafzai, Shoaib Malik, Yusuf Jan, Jamil Goheer, Adil Ajmal, Ali Cheema, Saurav Ray, was initiated by Tony Xu, the founder and CEO of DoorDash.
With the funds, the company is looking at expanding to Kenya and Bangladesh. It will certainly need to contend with the likes of Little Shuttle and Swvl in Kenya. However it has not given a definite date for this.
According to the company, it is building mass transit infrastructure for the developing world, “With a marketplace model, our technology helps organize private bus operators to run fixed routes at fixed timings. For transporters, Airlift offers a way to increase asset utilization by running their buses during idle time. For consumers, Airlift reduces both commute time and cost. Airlift’s proprietary dynamic stops technology lies at the heart of our marketplace.”
Airlift enables you to make premium quality commutes at reliable times, cost-effective prices and along travel-courses across the City. Airlift’s mobile app that’s available for both Android and iOS allows users to track the buses in real-time and make payments as well using their credit or debit cards. Users also have the option to pay by cash too when they board the bus.
