Arcis Clean Energy Pvt. Ltd, which operates electric vehicle-based travel tourism platform BLive, has raised capital in its pre-Series A funding round from Mumbai Angels Network.
The Goa-based startup will use the funds to enhance its technological infrastructure, expand marketing efforts and build its customer experience, BLive said in a statement.
The company didn’t disclose the amount it raised.
“Securing an investment amidst the present situation shows the confidence of investors in the potential of our business model and boosts our confidence to bounce back quickly,” Samarth Kholkar, co-founder at BLive, said.
Separately, Mumbai Angels Network co-promoter and CEO Nandini Mansinghka said the investment platform was confident in its bet in BLive because of its product and the shifts in the larger travel industry.
BLive was set up in 2018 by Kholkar and Sandeep Mukherjee. The company says it offers experiential guided tours on electric bikes for tourist hotspots, intending to promote zero-carbon tourism in the country.
The firm says its services are available in states such as Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Goa and Tamil Nadu. It also has corporate partners including Airbnb, Grand Hyatt and Taj Hotels.
In September 2019, it raised nearly $1 million through a stake sale to entertainment and event platform DNA Networks. BLive says its seed round was led by Shrinivas V Dempo, the chairman of the Goa-based Dempo Group, Vimson Group chairman Shivanand V Salgaocar.
Mumbai Angels
The angel investment group was established in 2006 and says it has over 400 members across chapters in cities including Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata. The group says it has over 135 companies in its portfolio and claims more than 30 exits with a cumulative investment of over Rs 150 crore.
According to VCCEdge, the data research arm of Mosaic Digital, some of the companies in its portfolio include CarterPorter Pvt. Ltd, Dhruva Space Pvt. Ltd and Leadstart Publishing Pvt. Ltd.
At the end of January, Mumbai Angels Network took part in a $3 million (around Rs 21.40 crore) pre-Series A funding round in advertising-technology startup Adonmo Pvt. Ltd. The round was led by the Ant Financial-backed BAce Capital.
In June last year, it backed digital documentation platform Leegality. The Grey Swift Pvt. Ltd-operated startup said it would use the funds to strengthen its tech stack and scale up its operations.
