Shared mobility startup Vogo widens FY19 losses; expenses shoot up to Rs 46.3 crore

Scooter sharing startup Vogo Automotive widened losses to Rs 39.2 crore in financial year 2018-2019 against Rs 3.3 crore a year earlier. Expenses shot up to Rs 46.3 crore from Rs 5.4 crore in the previous year, the Bengaluru-based startup’s latest regulatory filings showed. 

With the overall expenses pie, ‘other expenses’ accounted for Rs 32.7 crore. The category included rent, insurance, legal professional charges, amongst others. In FY18, the startup’s other expenses stood at Rs 3.4 crore. 

Revenues for the year grew to Rs 7 crore from Rs 2 crore in the previous year.

Responding to queries from TechCircle, Vogo founder Anand Ayyadurai said, “We invested significantly last year in technology and our team to build readiness for large scale-up this year. This financial year, our revenue will be at least 15X higher with a cost increase of less than 4X.”

Founded in 2016 by Anand Ayyadurai, B Padmanabhan and Sanchit Mittal, the Ola-backed scooter sharing platform has lately been in talks with investors to raise a large funding round as it goes head-to-head in the market with players such as Bounce, among several other players.

Vogo has reportedly been in the market for the last few months to raise close to $50 million from Goldman Sachs and Steadview Capital. 

The two-wheeler shared mobility segment has also drawn the interest of ride sharing majors Ola and Uber. In December last year, Bengaluru-based ANI Technologies, the company that owns Ola, announced a $100 million investment in Vogo.  

Earlier this year, Uber tied up with micro-mobility platform service Yulu to offer electric bikes to users on a pilot basis in Bengaluru.