Indian ride-hailing startup BluSmart has begun operations in Dubai, TechCrunch has learned exclusively and confirmed with its executive. The move to Dubai, which has been rumored for months, could help counter companies like Careem, Uber and Hala in the UAE's most populous city.
The Gurugram-based startup quietly enabled the new Dubai service through its app earlier this week and created a separate subdomain for Dubai on their website. BluSmart co-founder Anmol Jaggi confirmed to TechCrunch that the pilot began on Tuesday with 100 Audi E-Tron SUVs and 130 drivers in the city. The formal launch will be in early June, he said.
BluSmart has started planning its Dubai debut in early 2023, people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. When contacted in late March last year, BluSmart CBO Tushar Garg refuted the fact. However, its co-founder Punit Goyal saying In an interview with a local media outlet at the end of the year, the startup launched in Abu Dhabi and Dubai between November and December.
Without revealing a specific timeline, Jaggi told TechCrunch that the launch in Abu Dhabi will be later this year.
The ride-hailing startup, which counts BP Ventures, Mayfield India Fund and Green Frontier Capital among its early backers, was founded in 2019 by Jaggi, his brother Puneet Jaggi and Punit Goyal to take over the SoftBank-backed duopoly of Uber and Ola. . It started with a fleet of electric vehicles in Gurugram and Delhi and later expanded to Bengaluru in 2022.
In January, the startup raised $25 million from Switzerland-based impact fund ResponsAbility to improve its charging infrastructure.
Last month, BluSmart announced that its annual run rate grew 102% to $60 million, marking a 300% compound annual growth rate over the past three years. The startup has a fleet of more than 7,300 electric vehicles, covering almost 450 million kilometers, and aims to reach 10,000 by the end of 2024.
