Travelling in the city is the toughest part because of the traffic. While you can book an Ola or Uber or Rapido, the prices are dynamic and depend on the external factors. But in this regard, just think: you already have a car, and you only want to chill in your car, but you’re tired of driving. Then what if some driver can come for you on that day? Meaning you are not hiring a driver for the whole month, just a driver for your half-day plan? That’s exactly what DriveU does.
An app-based service, DriveU lets you book a professional, trained driver right from your phone. A verified driver comes to your doorstep, drives you around as per your plan, and once you’re done, he signs off. No surge pricing, no long-term commitment, and best of all, you ride in your own car.
It has really helped many people, and the interesting part is this company is already profitable. You may think this is a new company, right? No. It is a decade-old company started in 2015. Founded in July 2015 in Bengaluru by father-son duo Ramprasad (Rahm) Shastry, Ashok Shastry, and Amulmeet Singh Chadha, DriveU (under Humble Mobile Solutions Pvt Ltd) set out to provide background-verified, trained drivers for private car owners, effectively a chauffeur service at your fingertips.
The idea was born from a simple observation: car ownership in India was growing, but many people didn’t want to hire full-time drivers or deal with the stress of city driving. So, they started DriveU under the parent company Humble Mobile Solutions Pvt Ltd, with a bold yet simple goal: “To bring verified, trained drivers to every car owner’s fingertip just like ordering food or a cab.” The company has grown multi-fold in the last 10 years, which allowed them to expand the team and their user base over the past 10 years.
Today DriveU has over 1 lakh drivers, and they have completed over 8 million trips. As of 2023, the company has 650k+ customers who used their app for booking drivers. Now you understood the growth, right?
But why has this company scaled this much? One of the biggest advantages of DriveU is that you don’t need to hire a full-time driver. This is a purely on-demand service; you book a driver only when you need one. Whether it’s for an hour, a few hours, or a full day, you’re paying just for that trip. There’s no monthly salary, no extra benefits, and no long-term obligations. This flexibility is perfect for urban professionals with unpredictable schedules, people who drive only occasionally, and families who want comfort without the cost of a full-time driver.
The next important reason why DriveU is so popular is because of verified professionals. Safety and trust are critical when someone else is driving your car and maybe even your family. That’s why DriveU ensures every driver goes through a rigorous screening process.
You know this company has expanded their services, not just offering drivers, but they introduced other important things. We can schedule a car wash at our home, book a car service appointment, recharge our FastTag, and renew our car insurance, and it also offers DriveU coins.
Though the company is offering all these services, one thing can change all the direction of the company, which is pricing. They have hourly packages such as ₹129 per hour and such hourly packages and also private packages, which are affordable and transparent. This cost is often cheaper than ride-hailing services, especially when you already have a car. Now these parameters all led to the growth of the company, which in turn helped the company to become profitable.
In FY 2024 (year ended March 2024), its revenue from operations surged to ₹24.50 crore, up from ₹14.75 crore in FY 2023, which is an impressive 66% increase. The company also posted a net profit (PAT) of ₹0.11 crore (₹11.35 lakh) in FY 24 from a net loss of ₹2.29 crore in FY 2023, which is driven largely by tighter cost management, including reduced finance and depreciation expenses and lower long-term debt. Cash flow from operations turned positive at ₹2.18 crore, while long-term borrowings declined sharply from ₹6.82 crore to ₹44.9 lakh.
But the story in FY 25 is completely different. With gross platform revenue jumping 22% to ₹111.8 crore, up from ₹91.6 crore in FY 2024, supported by rising driver bookings across use cases. Net operating revenue climbed to ₹28.8 crore, while PAT surged to ₹1.73 crore, nearly a 15× increase over the prior year. EBITDA expanded to ₹1.74 crore (from ₹1.08 crore), reflecting improved margin management, even as total expenses rose to ₹27.82 crore, which increased due to higher marketing and employee expenditure to support long-term expansion plans.
Overall, the company is scaling at a consistent rate. DriveU has raised over $8.8 million dollars from various investors, and it is valued at $16.5 million. If the company scales up at this rate and increases the user base, they may earn more profits as they grow. So, next time you feel like enjoying your own car without the burden of the wheel, remember there’s an app for that. It’s called DriveU.
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