Zimmber claims to have over 1,000 transactions per day on its platform.
Bengaluru: Home services start-up Zimmber, run by Rejuvenate Solutions Pvt. Ltd, is close to raising $6-7 million from online marketplace Snapdeal and other investors, two people aware of the development said.
Founded in 2014 by Anubhab Goel, Gaurav Shrivastava and Amit Kumar, Zimmber offers the services of painters, plumbers, electricians and air-conditioner technicians, among others, in nearly 10 cities. It claims to have over 1,000 transactions per day on its platform.
The company had raised $2 million in July from investors such as Omidyar Network, IDG Ventures and Sherpalo Ventures. T.V. Mohandas Pai, chairman of Manipal Global Education, also participated in the round through Aarin Capital.
In the same month, the company had raised $400,000 from senior executives of mobile advertising firm InMobi, including co-founders Naveen Tewari, Mohit Saxena and Amit Gupta. Zimmber counts Praveen Sinha, co-founder of fashion website Jabong, among its early backers.
Zimmber chief executive and co-founder Goel and a Snapdeal spokesperson declined to comment.
There are over 100 home services firms offering services of plumbers, electricians, photographers, fitness instructors and tutors, among others, in India.
The development comes at a time when home services companies have been raising funds, expanding into new cities and introducing new categories to capture market share in a space that is yet to see clear leaders.
UrbanClap Technologies Pvt. Ltd raised $25 million last year and Quikr India Pvt. Ltd has committed to infuse Rs.250 crore into QuikrServices, its services vertical.
The potential to scale up in the sector has attracted blue-chip investors like Tiger Global, Bessemer Venture Partners, Vertex Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Omidyar Network, IDG Ventures, Matrix Partners, Accel Partners and SAIF Partners.
India’s biggest consumer internet firm, Flipkart, entered into a strategic partnership with Jeeves Consumer Services Pvt. Ltd, a firm that provides after-sales maintenance, repairs and other services on large home electronics and home appliances, in November 2014.
Relatively bigger home services platforms get an average of 3,000-4,000 user requests a day and charge 10-30% per transaction as a commission from service providers.
According to multiple platform operators and industry analysts, 2016 will be a defining year for the vertical, with acquisitions and consolidation. Housejoy acquired laundry start-up MyWash Technologies for an undisclosed amount last week. The acquisition aims to help Bengaluru-based Housejoy scale to 10,000 laundry services per day from around 1,000 now.
Zimmber acquired Mumbai-based laundry service provider Dhulai in June 2015, and Taskbob (Crenovative Ideas Pvt. Ltd) acquired Zepper Services Pvt. Ltd in November.
[“source-Livemint”]
