Indian Startup Rivigo Granted US Patent For Its Driver Relay System

On July 30th, Rivigo, a logistics startup from Gugugram announced that it has been granted patent rights by USPTO for its driver relay system.

According to the startup, it is the first Indian company to be granted patent rights by the US for its unique technology which could boost the efficiency of the logistics industry.

Gazal Kalra, Rivigo’s co-founder said:

With this model, it is ensured that drivers are working behind the wheel for four to five hours max at a stretch and they can reach home on the same day.

The company stated that the model makes use of algorithms to set up an intelligent driver allocation system which picks up drivers for work and divides transit hours, rest hours and driving hours equally for drivers. The system also keeps track of the drivers’ driving behavior.

The logistics industry of India is severely lacking drivers as for every 1,000 trucks there are only 482 drivers. The company’s “Relay-as-a-Service” is said to provide a scalable and sustainable solution.

More importantly, as the system schedule fixed working hours and mandatory rest for drivers before they go on the next trip, it can effectively reduce the number of accidents happening on the national highways.

Rivigo, which was founded by Deepak Garg and Gazal Kalra back in 2014, is a tech-enabled logistics firm. The company currently owns over 3,000 trucks.

Earlier this month, the company received a funding of $65 million from its Series E round from Warburg Pincus and SAIF Partners, its existing investors. At that time, Rivigo said it will focus on further strengthening its technology as well as network coverage.

The startup’s competitors include Delhivery, Shadowfax, LogiNext, Locus, and LEAP India, among which Delhivery is the first logistics provider in India to join the unicorn club.