Self-drive car rental startup ZoomCar has raised around $1 million in fresh funding led by New York-based angel investor group Empire Angels. The company now has a total seed fund of over $1.6 million. ZoomCar did not disclose how much stake they offloaded for this additional capital. The funds raised will be used primarily to scale Zoom's fleet and to develop technology that improves operations and customer experience, reported Times of India.

Apart from Empire Angels, San Francisco-based venture capital firm Funders Club, Basset Investment Group, former US SEC commissioner Lady Barbara Judge and other angels in India participated in the round.

The Bangalore-based company, which began operations in February this year, has already raised $650,000 in capital from a clutch of marquee investors across the globe including former US treasury secretary Larry Summers who invested $30,000 in the startup in May.

ZoomCar offers customers a range of cars from hatchbacks to beamers and sedans that can be rented for as low as Rs 225 an hour to Rs 999 an hour. The price includes insurance. Individuals above 23 years are permitted to rent their cars. It currently has vehicles at five locations in Bangalore and they will add two more before November.

It is to be noted that in August this year, another US based online car rental service, Uber has launched in India testing its operations in Bangalore.

Transport rules and regulations in India are tricky for a foreign enterprise.  Recently, US-based Zoom had launched a membership-based, self-drive car rental service in Bangalore.

The on-demand taxi and car service has become a competitive market in India with ventures like OlaCabs, TaxiForSure, SharedCabs, Meru and TaxiGuide being some of the key players in the space.