Gurgaon-based car tracking telematics solutions startup, Trak N Tell, has raised an undisclosed sum of funding from a group of investors, led by WhatsApp Co-Founder Brian Acton.

While the terms of the Series-A round were not disclosed, Acton, along with two other investors, whose names have also not been revealed, are believed to have pumped in about $3.5 million (Rs 23.3 crore) in the nine-year-old venture, making this the latest transaction in the country’s startup ecosystem involving a high profile Silicon Valley-based tech entrepreneur.

In April, PayPal Co-Founder Max Levchin and Scott Banister, an early investor in Facebook and Uber, led a Rs 8.6 crore round in financial technology startup ClearTax. This is the first investment for Acton in India.

The 44 year-old is primarily known for founding mobile messaging app WhatsApp, along with Jan Koum.

“We are very pleased to have Brian on board, and he’s been of tremendous help in terms of strategising, and planning for the company’s next stage of growth,” Pranshu Gupta, Chief Executive of Trak N Tell, told.

Founded in 2007, Trak N Tell provides sophisticated vehicle telematics solutions, which claims to allow for predictive engine failure, preventive maintenance notification and fuel monitoring system, among others.

Its flagship device, Intelli7, is a GPS-based unit that enables car owners and fleet owners to track their vehicles and even immobilise them in case of a theft. “Pranshu has extremely interesting plans for the Indian automotive market and I am very excited to help him scale his business further as an investor,” Acton said in an email.

Consumers will have to spend Rs 5,999 for the Intelli7 unit, which covers the cost of the hardware, SIM services and cloud-based services for a period of three years. The assembly of the Intelli7 unit has been outsourced to a local manufacturer.

According to Gupta, the startup, which caters to both enterprise and retail segments, will use the proceeds to expand its presence across the country. The company expects to be in Bengaluru by the end of the next quarter, followed by Mumbai.

“We also plan to utilise a portion of the funding round towards scaling up our R&D, as well as for marketing. We are targeting to be in 500-1,000 stores by the end of the current calendar year,” Gupta said.

Source: The Economic Times

Image Courtesy: The Economic Times