The Gurgaon-headquartered online automobile marketplace intends to leverage emerging technology like AI, machine learning and big data to improve its marketplace solutions and better serve its customer base.
Eight months after raising over Rs 207 crore in its last funding round, Droom, an online marketplace for automobiles, is making a move into the artificial intelligence (AI) space. The Gurgaon-headquartered company has invested Rs 50 crore towards setting up an AI lab and intends to leverage this emerging technology along with machine learning and big data to improve its marketplace offerings and better serve its customer base, The Economic Times reported.
In October, after its Series E round, Droom had not only announced plans to further strengthen its dominance in the online automobile marketplace segment – it is currently the leading player cornering over 80% of the online automobile transactions – but had also voiced intent to invest heavily in developing AI capabilities for its vast portfolio of products.
The company is now putting its plans into action. Sandeep Aggarwal, founder and CEO, Droom told the daily that the new lab would work on areas such as improving the recommended engine system for better references and alerting customers when the car needs maintenance, among others.
“We are also working at improving our intelligent image processing system which would give all the information needed on the car, like the make and model, and also the likely price you should get or pay for it,” he said.
The company is also looking to heavily use technology in areas like customer support, where a large part of the interactions are done by chatbots, as well as creating tools like Orange Book Value, which gives the estimated value of a second-hand car.
The company is currently on a rapid expansion drive, reportedly generating $1.2 billion in annualised GMV and posting a growth rate of 150 per cent year-on-year. To date, it has raised around $125 million over six funding rounds and counts Lightbox, Beenext, Beenos, Digital Garage, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, the family office of Japan-based investor Joe Hirao, founder, ZIGExN, and Integrated Assets Management among its investors.
Droom, now present in 735 cities, has been aggressively expanding its network of auto dealers, crossing the 2.71 lakh mark last year. The company has previously also signed an MOU with Toyota Tsusho Corporation, the trading arm of the Toyota Group, to expand internationally into nine South East Asian countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.
Archive
- October 2024(44)
- September 2024(94)
- August 2024(100)
- July 2024(99)
- June 2024(126)
- May 2024(155)
- April 2024(123)
- March 2024(112)
- February 2024(109)
- January 2024(95)
- December 2023(56)
- November 2023(86)
- October 2023(97)
- September 2023(89)
- August 2023(101)
- July 2023(104)
- June 2023(113)
- May 2023(103)
- April 2023(93)
- March 2023(129)
- February 2023(77)
- January 2023(91)
- December 2022(90)
- November 2022(125)
- October 2022(117)
- September 2022(137)
- August 2022(119)
- July 2022(99)
- June 2022(128)
- May 2022(112)
- April 2022(108)
- March 2022(121)
- February 2022(93)
- January 2022(110)
- December 2021(92)
- November 2021(107)
- October 2021(101)
- September 2021(81)
- August 2021(74)
- July 2021(78)
- June 2021(92)
- May 2021(67)
- April 2021(79)
- March 2021(79)
- February 2021(58)
- January 2021(55)
- December 2020(56)
- November 2020(59)
- October 2020(78)
- September 2020(72)
- August 2020(64)
- July 2020(71)
- June 2020(74)
- May 2020(50)
- April 2020(71)
- March 2020(71)
- February 2020(58)
- January 2020(62)
- December 2019(57)
- November 2019(64)
- October 2019(25)
- September 2019(24)
- August 2019(14)
- July 2019(23)
- June 2019(54)
- May 2019(82)
- April 2019(76)
- March 2019(71)
- February 2019(67)
- January 2019(75)
- December 2018(44)
- November 2018(47)
- October 2018(74)
- September 2018(54)
- August 2018(61)
- July 2018(72)
- June 2018(62)
- May 2018(62)
- April 2018(73)
- March 2018(76)
- February 2018(8)
- January 2018(7)
- December 2017(6)
- November 2017(8)
- October 2017(3)
- September 2017(4)
- August 2017(4)
- July 2017(2)
- June 2017(5)
- May 2017(6)
- April 2017(11)
- March 2017(8)
- February 2017(16)
- January 2017(10)
- December 2016(12)
- November 2016(20)
- October 2016(7)
- September 2016(102)
- August 2016(168)
- July 2016(141)
- June 2016(149)
- May 2016(117)
- April 2016(59)
- March 2016(85)
- February 2016(153)
- December 2015(150)