Kazakhstani startup CTOgram raised $700,000 in investments

180,000 car owners are already being serviced through the platform

Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. November 16, 2021 Today CTOgram announces the closure of a new funding round from international institutional investors. In the round, valued at approximately $5 million USD, the lead investor was the leading Asian venture fund Quest Ventures. Also participating were MOST Ventures and angel investor Adil Nurgozhin.

CTOgram helps drivers find auto services from verified providers and automotive products, such as parts from wholesale traders, on a user-friendly platform that has already served 180,000 car owners. More than 1,100 auto repair shops are already connected to the platform.

“CTOgram is a convenient and fast service for finding and selecting service stations (STO) and auto repair shops. How does it work? The client simply needs to enter their car’s license plate number in the app, and the system will automatically determine the VIN, make, model, year, engine size, and select auto repair shops, as well as parts suitable for the client’s specific car. You can also submit a request and receive price quotes from all available and interested auto repair shops. Thanks to 37,000 honest reviews from other car owners, you can choose the best option,” — says startup founder Zhandos Tursumbayev.

The $700,000 USD (300 million tenge) investment will accelerate the rollout of CTOgram across the entire region (CIS), thereby providing broad support to car owners. The company previously attracted angel investments from top business angels such as Olzhas Zhiyenkulov, Talgat Ismail, Anuar Seifullin, and Ruslan Rakhymbay.

“The auto service industry in Kazakhstan and Central Asia has remained virtually unchanged for the past thirty years. The transparency and convenience that CTOgram brings to this sector are groundbreaking and pave the way for even greater achievements,” — commented James Tan, Managing Partner at Quest Ventures.

Quest Ventures was one of the first investors in Carro, a unicorn on the rapidly growing used car resale market in Southeast Asia, as well as in Ion Mobility (electric vehicles) and the unicorn Carousell (Carousell Cars).

“We believe in the ecosystem the startup is building around car owners and auto repair shops. It has dynamic organic growth. But it needs new fuel to ‘fly’ faster. We hope that the raised investment will allow the service to cover the entire market and provide a boost for entering the international market in the very near future,” — adds Alim Khamitov, Managing Partner of MOST Ventures.

“I am one of those who believed in Zhandos and the CTOgram team from the very beginning, and I see that we are entering a niche where we have every chance to dominate. This niche is a kind of blue ocean, and the team has learned to swim in it and swim fast. Others won’t catch up,” — commented business angel Adil Nurgozhin.