Lane Raises Rs 8.5 Crore to Expand Tech-Driven Driving Education

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Wednesday, 12 August 2026

Lane, a technology-enabled driving education and mobility platform, has raised Rs 8.5 crore in a pre-seed funding round led by Kae Capital. DeVC, Antler India, Panthera Peak and several angel investors also participated in the round.

The Bengaluru-based startup will use the new capital to expand its operations across the city and enter other Tier 1 markets. The company also plans to grow its instructor network, develop sensor technology and strengthen its presence in car ownership services.

Founded in 2025 by Samiksha Agarwal, Lane combines structured driving lessons with RTO and licensing support. It also uses a driver intelligence system to provide a technology-led approach to driving education and mobility.

Beyond driving lessons, Lane offers car purchase support, RTO services and other mobility solutions to its learners. According to the company, nearly 60% of its learners are planning to purchase their first car, creating opportunities for the startup to support customers beyond driving education.

Key Highlights:

• Lane raises Rs 8.5 crore in pre-seed funding to expand its driving education platform
• The startup uses technology to improve driving skills, safety and driver intelligence
• Lane is expanding into car ownership, offering vehicle purchases and RTO services

The company’s expansion comes amid India’s road safety challenges. More than 1.7 lakh people die in road accidents in India every year or around 20 people every hour. Although India has about 1% of the world’s vehicles, it 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, professional driver services, fleet management and mobility. DriveU, for instance, uses technology to connect car owners with trained and verified drivers and claims to have completed more than 5 million drives and served over 7 lakh car owners.

Elsewhere in mobility, Milo Drive recently raised $2.4 million in seed funding from Caret Capital, Antler India, IAN Capital and others, while River Mobility raised $120 million in Series C funding in August 2026.

Funding specifically focused on driving education remains relatively limited in India, although the broader mobility sector continues to attract capital across driver services, fleet technology and EV mobility.

Lane is also expanding beyond driving education into vehicle ownership. The company has begun offering car purchases and RTO services to its learners, with nearly 60 per cent of its customers expressing an intention to purchase their first car.

The startup's longer-term plan is to build an AI-powered automotive platform centered on driver intelligence. Its sensor-based system is designed to turn driving sessions into behavioral data and build an individual profile for each driver. Lane sees potential applications in areas including insurance risk assessment, vehicle performance data and road-safety incentive systems.

“What convinced us wasn't just the size of the category, but where it sits in a person's life,” said Sunitha Viswanathan, partner at Kae Capital. “The moment you learn to drive is the moment you start thinking about owning, insuring, and building a life around a car.”