Pronto, an instant home services startup, has raised another $20 million in its Series B funding round, pushing the company’s valuation to $200 million just two months after its previous fundraise, reported Reuters.
The fresh investment came from venture capitalist Lachy Groom. Earlier in March, the startup had raised $25 million at a valuation of $100 million from investors including General Catalyst, Epiq Capital, Glade Brook Capital and Bain Capital Ventures.
Pronto offers quick home services such as laundry, kitchen preparation and home cleaning, with services starting from Rs 125. Workers are available within 15 minutes through the platform.
The startup competes with Urban Company’s Insta Help service and Lightspeed-backed Snabbit.
Founder and CEO Anjali Sardana said a large part of the new funding will be used to expand the company’s workforce as demand continues to rise sharply.
According to Sardana, Pronto’s bookings have jumped from around 3,000 a day at the beginning of December to more than 26,000 bookings daily now, the report mentioned.
She said the company has been increasing supply quickly, but demand is still growing faster.
Pronto is also adding new services such as car washing and gardening. The company has started testing home cooking services as well.
Like many fast-growing startups, the platform currently offers discounts to customers while ensuring stable payouts for workers. Sardana said the company has reduced burn per booking by 55% over the last quarter.
She added that the startup remains well-funded for the next one to two years. Sardana also said discounting is likely to continue for a long period because of strong competition and the need to build customer habits.
A recent note by BofA Securities said the next 24 to 36 months are expected to remain “burn heavy” for businesses in this segment.
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