Airlift Technologies

Airlift Technologies is a Pakistani tech start-up operating in logistics and quick commerce, headquartered in Lahore, Pakistan. The company was launched in 2019 as an app-based decentralized urban mass transit startup that allowed customers to book fixed-rate rides on buses and vans in their network fleet. In the aftermath of COVID-19, in March 2020, Airlift diversified into the quick commerce space by launching Airlift Express -- a 30-minute online delivery service that provides customers with essentials' delivery, operated through an advanced network of mid-fulfillment centers that receive inventory from manufacturers and suppliers.

Airlift Technologies
IndustryTransportation
FoundedMarch 2019
FoundersUsman Gul
Ahmed Ayub
Meher Farrukh
Ali Ghori
Headquarters
Lahore
,
Pakistan
Area served
Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot and Peshawar
ProductsAirlift Express and Airlift Transit
Websitewww.airlifttech.com

History

The idea of Airlift was conceived by the founding Chief Executive Usman Gul after he experienced the congestion during his visit to Lahore for vacations which was caused by the inefficiency of local transportation.[1] Having previously worked with MasterCard and DoorDash in San Francisco, Gul decided to move to Pakistan to launch Airlift with the vision of creating positive impact at a mass scale.

In March 2019, Gul along with a small team founded the Airlift and launched its operations with a pilot project in Lahore.[2] Gul initially self funded the startup using $50,000.[1]

As of July 2019, the company was operating in two Pakistani cities, Karachi and Lahore.[1] In August 2019, Airlift raised $2.2 million in seed funding from local and international institutions.[3]

According to a report, Airlift acquired 50,000 riders in Lahore in less than five months of its operations and scaled to 10,000+ rides a day. In November 2019, the company raised Series A funding of $12 million which included participation from American venture capital firm First Round Capital. [4][5]

In March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic halted transit operations across the world, Airlift successfully diversified to the quick commerce space by launching Airlift Express. In the midst of the pandemic, in July 2020, Airlift raised a Series A-1 funding of $10 million. Quiet Capital, based in San Francisco, led the round with TrueSight Ventures (London), RT Ventures (London), Shorooq Partners (Abu Dhabi), and ACE Capital (Taiwan) participating, among other local partners. Existing investors, First Round Capital (San Francisco), Fatima Gobi Ventures (Pakistan) and Indus Valley Capital (Pakistan) also continued their support for Airlift in this financing.

In August 2021, almost a year after launching Airlift Express, the team announced a Series B funding round of $85 million, bringing the total raised funding to more than $110 million. Airlift's Series B round scored the largest single private funding round in Pakistan’s history. The Series B financing co-led by Harry Stebbings from 20VC and Josh Buckley from Buckley Ventures Ltd., with participation from former Y Combinator president Sam Altman.[6]

Airlift Express

Airlift Express was launched with a vision of building a world of self-empowerment in the developing regions to reduce individual dependency on others for basic essentials. Airlift delivers across a range of items including daily household essentials, food supplies, fresh produce, stationery, pet food, electronics, cleaning supplies and more in 30 minutes. Airlift Express is currently operating in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Peshawar, with plans to expand internationally.

See also

References
  1. Khan, Mutaher (21 July 2019). "Tech Talk: Smart buses to make intracity commute easier". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  2. "Pakistani bus app Airlift raises $2.2m to expand to more urban centers". techinasia. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  3. "Pakistan's ride hailing startup Airlift raised 2.2m seed". Daily Times. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  4. "Pakistan's Airlift raises $12 million in country's largest Series A to build a decentralized global mass transit system". MENAbytes. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  5. "Pakistani Startup Airlift Raises $2.2M As Investors Flock To Transit-Hailing Apps". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  6. "Shopping Delivery Service Raises $85 Million, a Record for Startups in Pakistan". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
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