On-demand driver aggregator DriveU acquires rival DriversKart

Bangalore-based on-demand driver aggregator DriveU has acquired rival DriversKart in an all equity deal, the company said in a statement.

Post-acquisition, both the startups will merge  their business models with Vinit Srivastava, CEO, DriversKart taking on an advisory role and Kopal Maheshwari, COO, heading the B2B arm at DriveU.

“With this acquisition, DriveU continues to consolidate its position as India’s premier driver aggregator for both consumers and businesses. Increasingly, we see the sharing economy offering opportunities to leverage our driver services as well. DriveU now plans to expand to over 10,000 drivers and 10 cities by the end of the year," said Ramprasad Shastry, CEO, DriveU.

Chennai-based DriversKart, which is run by Get Driven Technologies Pvt. Ltd, was founded by serial entrepreneur Vinit Srivastava, former Jabong executive Lakshmi Potluri and former Cognizant executive Saksham Grover in 2015. It enables users to hire drivers on an hourly, weekly or monthly basis through its app.

While DriveU's major focus is consumer demand, DriversKart is more focused on aggregating drivers for businesses such as home delivery of Zoomcar vehicles, and at car service centres.

“Both, DriveU and DriversKart have maintained price discipline and built sustainable businesses, benefitting customers and increasing drivers’ incomes. With this acquisition, DriveU will now offer a compelling service to the B2B segment as well,” said Vinit Srivastava, CEO, DriversKart.

This is DriveU’s second acquisition in the same segment. Last May, the company acquired Gurgaon-based on-demand driver provider CallAtHome in an all-cash deal.