Car Chabi has raised $150,000 in seed funding from Treet Corporation Ltd. It is an IoT startup that aims to revolutionize automobiles in Pakistan by providing a digital key of the car in your smartphone.
Car Chabi’s smart device, connects to your cars wiring harness and provides a number of controls for car users via their smartphone for example, users can lock/unlock, turn on and off, start/stop, secure, and turn the AC and heater on/off.
The team is being led by two young entrepreneurs, Muhammad Ali Rashid, CEO and Hammad Siddiqui COO of Car Chabi. Car Chabi started its operations in January, 2016. “This investment has helped us to expand our team and will allow us in the research and development of new products. We will also be focusing on mass production of our current product, Car Chabi and looking to expand all over Pakistan as well as the Middle East.”- Hammad Siddiqui, COO Car Chabi.
Ali Rashid, CEO of Car Chabi describes that “Our customers are the people who love cars and technology. With us making life enhancing products, which are essentially going to improve their lives in one way or another. It is not about the spectacle but rather about leaving the proportion of technology to create the drama – and this is our ideology. With just a little amount of technology, we can create an ease for the customer. We are focusing on life enhancing products driven by IoT.”
Mr. Shehryar Ali shared his confidence on the investment, stating that “Automation is the future and Pakistan still has a long way to go. Car Chabi will get the first mover advantage. A decade or two ago what we considered a luxury (cell phones, laptops etc. have now all become a necessity). There is no doubt in my mind that automation of products will follow this trend in years to come. I think it’s a great investment otherwise I wouldn’t have gone for it.”
As a result of this investment, Car Chabi will now operate and be held under a parent company, named ‘RoboArt Pvt. Ltd’. Under RoboArt the team will continue to work in the field of IoT and develop a multitude of products that would cater to a larger audience in Pakistan.
Car Chabi is currently being accelerated at PlanX, after graduating from Plan9 (both projects of PITB). Ali mentioned that “It is because of PlanX that we had a chance to meet Syed Shehryar Ali, Executive Director at Treet Group of Companies. They have helped us in business development and growth of our business. They have also helped us in building relations with distributors all over Pakistan.”
Mera kala treet blade, hoey gorayaan nu paran karo. Treet Corp should buy a better jingle before investing in startups. btw, I am amazed at the spins of startups around the world. They get pint sized money out of announced funding but their attention seeking affinity goes through the roof. Needless to mention that many such startups thumping their chests bite the dust sonner than the end of their hangover.
Oh, and I run a fruit salad cart street side. So I AM an entrepreneur.