Online freight aggregator Blackbuck raises $70 million

Blackbuck eyes partnerships and acquisitions

Online freight aggregator Blackbuck has raised $70 million in fresh funding, led by US-based venture capital investor Sands Capital, as it eyes partnerships and acquisitions.

The round which also saw participation from existing investors such as Tiger Global, Accel Partners and Flipkart, comes ahead of Blackbuck’s goal to achieve earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) profitability in the next three months.

“We’ve grown in a very capital efficient way. Majority of the proceeds of the previous round are still in the bank. This particular round is towards having more money which creates more avenues to look at investing in the ecosystem,” said Rajesh Yabaji, co-founder and chief executive officer, Blackbuck. Blackbuck, a participant in India’s $70 billion inter-city freight sector, claims it has become the largest player in the market with 100,000 trucks.

Despite the fragmented nature of the market, growing smartphone use and better internet connectivity has helped the company scale quickly.

It is now drawing up an “open-ended” plan to deploy capital towards industry partnerships and acquisitions that will help it grow faster. While Blackbuck will invest back into technology, it will continue to do so in a capital efficient manner that will be fuelled by its own revenues.

“Most of the hauls in the industry are unplanned and on-demand and the inventory of these trucks in this fragmented market has been aggregated, and this has been one of our core propositions. With over 400 customers today and 100,000 truckers, I think we’ve proved our product market fit,” added Yabaji.

Blackbuck creates value for customers by giving them easy access to trucks and allows them to track in realtime the location of trucks adding a layer of predictability and safety. For drivers, the platform provides the promise of getting regular hauls even from remote parts of the country.