Online payment platform Paytm has invested $5m in India-based auto rickshaw and hyperlocal delivery service Jugnoo as part of a $10m series B round, the Economic Times has reported.
The round also included venture capital firm Snow Leopard Ventures, VC fund Rocketship.vc and actress Saumya Tandoni.
Jugnoo operates an auto rickshaw booking service that spans 30 Indian cities and 11 villages, and also uses the rickshaw drivers to deliver goods on behalf of sellers. It plans to use the series B funding for further expansion, and to increase driver efficiency.
Paytm, a subsidiary of One97 Communications, invested $10m in Jugnoo in November 2015, according to the Times of India. Jugnoo had already secured $5m in series A funding from Paytm and Snow Leopard in June 2015, after angel investors had supplied $1m in seed funding the previous year.
Kiran Vasireddy, senior vice-president of Paytm, said: “With [a] further infusion of funds, Jugnoo will be equipped to scale up its operations across the country and Paytm is happy to be a part of its growth story.”