Indian ride-hailing startup BluSmart has started operations in Dubai, TechCrunch has exclusively learned, with confirmation from a company executive. A move to Dubai, which has been rumored for months, could help him take on companies like Careem, Uber and Hala in the United Arab Emirates' most populous city.
The Gurugram-based startup quietly launched a new service for Dubai through its app earlier this week, creating a dedicated Dubai subdomain on its website. Anmol Jaggi, co-founder of BluSmart, confirmed to TechCrunch that the trial began on Tuesday with 100 Audi E-Tron SUVs and 130 drivers in the city. The official launch will be in early June, he said.
BluSmart has begun planning to debut in Dubai in early 2023, people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. When contacted in late March last year, BluSmart's CBO Tushar Garg refuted the development. However, co-founder Punit Goyal said in an interview with local media later this year that the startup will launch in Abu Dhabi and Dubai between November and December.
Jaggi told TechCrunch that the Abu Dhabi launch will likely occur later this year, without giving a specific timeline.
The ride-hailing startup, whose early backers include BP Ventures, Mayfield India Fund and Green Frontier Capital, was founded by Jaggi and his brother Puneet Jaggi in 2019 to take on the Uber and SoftBank-backed Ola duopoly. , founded by Punit Goyal. . It started with EV fleets in Gurugram and Delhi and later expanded to Bengaluru in 2022.
In January, the company raised $25 million from Switzerland-based impact fund ResponsAbility to bolster its charging infrastructure.
BlueSmart announced last month that its annual revenue rose 102% to $60 million, bringing the company's average annual growth rate to 300% over the past three years. The company has more than 7,300 EVs with nearly 286 million miles on the clock, and aims to reach 10,000 by the end of 2024.