Bike rental startup Royal Brothers raises funding

Bike rental brand Royal Brothers, owned by Royalbison Autorentals India Pvt. Ltd, said it has raised $1 million (Rs 7 crore) in a pre-Series A round from angel investors.The round saw participation from Pradeep Deviah, chairman and chief executive, PDA Trade Fairs, a division of Pradeep Deviah and Associates Pvt. Ltd; angel investor Amrith Prasad; and others. The round was a mix of primary and secondary share purchases, the firm said in a statement.With the recent funding, the company plans to strengthen its inventory across all the cities where it has a presence, besides expanding business to other states. “Royal Brothers will also introduce riding gear rentals across the currently operational cities, and start long-term leasing. It also aims to introduce electric bikes as well,” the firm said in the statement.Founded in 2015 by chief executive officer and director Abhishek Chandrasekhar, Royal Brothers received seed capital of Rs 1.8 crore in the same year. The company claims to be the first bike rental platform to be licensed to operate in Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.