Chinese on-demand auto repair startup Kalading nabs $10M in funding

Kalading, a Beijing-based startup that connects auto repairmen to drivers with busted vehicles, announced on Wednesday it has closed a US$10 million series A round. The investment was led by CBC Capital, with participation from Geek Partners and Gobi Partners. The latter firm led Kalading’s US$400,000 seed round from 2014.

Kalading works much as one might expect. Users in need of a quick fix for their car can summon a repairman through Kalading’s WeChat account or by calling a phone number. As is often the case with Chinese on-demand service startups, Kalading doesn’t yet have a standalone mobile app, though founder Charles Ji tells Tech in Asia that one is in the works.

Whereas many on-demand service startups source labor from freelancers, Ji says that all of its employees work in-house. This is because the sector features no shortage of workers, but rather a shortage in quality. As a result, Kalading trains its repairmen and employs them full-time in an effort to provide the best service.

Kalading monetizes by taking a cut of the products it sells to customers. The company is an authorized reseller of products made by Castrol, ExonnMobile, and other big brands and it also sells a PM 2.5 air filter that it developed in-house. It charges a service fee of RMB 150 (about US$25) for every job.

China’s on-demand startups continue to rake in funding as quickly as (perhaps even quicker than) than their counterparts abroad. In recent months, laundry on-demand startup Edaxi got US$20 million from Tencent, chef on-demand startup Hao Chushi got a seed round, and valet parking app Tingchebao scored US$2.6 million.