Dubai: Narain Karthikeyan made history as India’s first Formula 1 driver, but nearly two decades after entering the sport’s biggest stage, he took on a very different challenge of building a business in India’s used two-wheeler market.
Karthikeyan raced for the Jordan F1 team in 2005, becoming the first Indian to compete in a Formula 1 race. He later raced in Japanese Super Formula series before joining Super GT series in 2019.
However, a year later, Karthikeyan co-founded DriveX in Bengaluru, targeting India’s fragmented pre-owned motorcycle and scooter market.
According to Moneycontrol, DriveX began by offering certified used two-wheelers before expanding into inspection, refurbishment, retail, financing, warranties and documentation.
The company attracted institutional funding in 2022. An angel round valued DriveX at around Rs 66 crore (Dh 25.2 million) before TVS Motor funded the company $10.6 million (Dh 38.9 million) six months later.
The investment valued the company at about Rs 176 crore (Dh 67.3 million) post-money and gave TVS a roughly 48 per cent stake.
DriveX continued expanding its operations and currently targets 500 outlets by 2027. TVS expanded its stake in Karthikeyan’s company acquiring another 39.11 per cent stake in 2024.
This made their total stake to about 87 per cent in a deal valued at Rs 111.9 crore (Dh 42.8 million). TVS later invested another Rs 64 crore (Dh 24.4 million) in 2025. While the company did suffer some loss, it continued to get funding from the new majority owners.
The company says it has sold more than 40,000 vehicles through its network of over 40 stores, marking Karthikeyan’s striking transition from F1 racing to entrepreneurship. Undoubtedly, the former Formula One driver is tasting success in his second career.
