Sheerdrive Raises Pre-Series A Round Led By JITO Network

Sheerdrive has successfully raised its pre-Series A round. The fundraising has been led by JITO Network and supported by investor group INSEAD India, along with notable HNIs and existing investors, Group Landmark, Volrado Venture Fund, and Prajit Nanu, Co-Founder and CEO at NIUM, a multi-billion dollar fintech enterprise.

“Sheerdrive aims to disrupt the pre-owned car market in India, backed by innovation and in-depth market understanding. In doing so, alleviates legacy issues of convenience, transparency, and pricing in the industry for New Car Dealers and customers. We are committed to accelerating pre-owned transactions through our pioneering VIAR technology platform. The funding will help us expand into new geographies and elevate the tech stack for New Car Dealerships to unlock value in used car transactions,” said Ravi Mehra, CEO and Co-founder of Sheerdrive.

“Sheerdrive has a passionate and highly experienced team with in-depth industry experience. It perfectly syncs with the business aspects we at JITO look for. Pre-owned cars will play a big role in people adopting personal mobility through an upgrade from a two-wheeler or directly owning a pre-owned car as their first car. We strongly believe that automotive dealerships would see significant disruption over the medium to long term driven by a few critical factors, such as shifting customer preferences and digital disruptions across the automotive value chain. This is where Sheerdrive can really make a difference, and we are excited to be part of the growth journey of Sheerdrive," said Pooja Mehta, Chief Investment Officer, JITO Network.

Archit Vijoy, founder of INSEAD India, comments, “The Indian used-car market Sheerdrive is looking to capture is massive and unorganized! Consider this statistic: New Car Dealers in India retail approximately 3 to 5% of the country’s pre-owned cars vs. 33% in the US. This is due to lack of tech and used-car competence. Ravi and his team are fixing this. Our thesis at INSEAD Angels is straightforward: we back founders that look to capture alpha in large unorganized markets using technology.”

Sheerdrive aims to achieve a GMV ARR of $500 million and transactions for over 100,000+ vehicles across 35 cities by FY2025.