Kae Capital leads Rs 8.5 Cr pre-seed round in Lane

Tech-enabled driving education and mobility platform Lane has raised Rs 8.5 crore in a pre-seed funding round led by Kae Capital, with participation from DeVC, Antler India, Panthera Peak and other angel investors. The fresh funds will be used for geographic expansion, including scaling its instructor network across Bengaluru and into other Tier 1 cities, building sensor technology and expanding into car ownership services, Lane said in a press release. Launched in January last year, Lane offers structured driving lessons, end-to-end RTO and licensing support, and a driver intelligence platform. The Bengaluru-based startup is also offering car purchases, RTO services and other mobility-related services to its learners. Nearly 60% of its learners have expressed an intent to purchase their first car, according to the company. According to a market report, more than 1.7 lakh people die in road accidents in India every year, or roughly 20 people every hour. India has about 1% of the world's vehicles but accounts for nearly 11% of global road deaths. Lane claims to have delivered more than 30,000 hours of driving instruction to over 3,100 learners in 18 months. Its safety-focused approach was developed through more than 400 hours of pilot classes, with input from automobile researchers. The company assesses instructors across 15 driving parameters, including through simulated lessons. The sector remains relatively fragmented, with technology adoption spanning driving education, p…