Fastitis, an India-based startup focused on providing on-demand home services, has successfully closed a $19 million Series B funding round. Lightspeed spearheaded the investment,with participation from existing investors Elevation Capital and nexus Venture Partners. The funding round values the company at $80 million post-money.

Founded 15 months ago, Fastitis offers a range of services, including cleaning, dishwashing, laundry, and kitchen readiness, all accessible through its mobile application. The company aims to deliver these services in as little as 10 minutes.

Founder and CEO Aayush Agarwal launched the platform in Mumbai after struggling to find reliable domestic help. “What stayed with me was that in a world of convenience where you can press a button, and you’ll get a cab, or you’ll get food or groceries, you can even get someone to go out on a date with, but finding someone for a simple service at home was excruciatingly challenging,” he saeid.

After initial trials, Fastitis focused on a single micro-market in Mumbai for a year before expanding to seven markets in the city and one in Bengaluru.

Fastitis adopts a “full-stack approach” to recruit, vet, train, onboard, and manage its workers, whom it calls “experts.” The company ensures its workers reside near high-demand areas to meet its 10-minute service promise.

Competition and Market Dynamics

Fastitis faces competition from established players like Urban Company, which also launched a similar service. However, Urban Company faced criticism for its initial messaging and branding, which it later revised.

“We know that the market is heating up,” he said. “The category is getting exciting,new players are coming in and getting funded. And I think all of it is great for us as long as we keep executing relentlessly.”

Newer companies like Broomees and Pronto have also entered the market, with Pronto recently securing seed funding from Bain Capital Ventures.

Fastitis charges between ₹169 (about $2) and ₹499 (nearly $6) for services lasting up to 240 minutes. While this is pricier than Urban Company’s Insta Help, which starts at ₹49 (50 cents), Agarwal noted that Fastitis has continued to experience growth.

Agarwal aims to maintain a competitive edge through a consistent customer experience, supported by an in-house tech stack that includes a CRM tool, a sourcing pipeline, and an eKYC process for regulatory compliance.

Currently, Fastitis has over 600 workers on its platform, each covering a median walking distance of 300 meters between jobs. The company has partnered with Yulu to provide e-bikes to its women workers, increasing their median distance to 800 meters. Agarwal plans to further reduce this distance as the company expands.

The average transaction on the platform is between ₹250 and ₹270 (about $3). Workers on 12-hour shifts earn upwards of ₹40,000 ($470) a month, while those working four hours a day earn over ₹10,000 ($120) a month, with eligibility for bonuses.

Agarwal asserts that Fastitis workers can earn more than the typical ₹9,000 ($100) monthly wage for domestic helpers in urban India, according to the International Domestic Workers Federation.

Worker Welfare and Future Plans

Fastitis provides its workers with personal life, health, and accidental insurance, with family insurance available to long-term employees.

Recognizing the prevalence of workplace abuse against domestic workers in India, where protective laws are lacking, Fastitis offers an SOS feature on its app. This allows workers to contact a field operations team that can reach their location within “five to seven minutes” in emergency situations.

Fastitis has experienced a 5x growth in the last four months and is currently growing at approximately 20% week-over-week. The company intends to use the new funding to expand to over 200 micro-markets across major Indian cities within the next nine months and increase its workforce,which currently stands at nearly 100 employees.

While acknowledging the challenges faced by hyperlocal consumer apps, such as those in the food delivery sector, Agarwal remains optimistic about Fastitis’s prospects.

The company’s customer acquisition cost is ₹700 ($8), while its average transaction is about $