PickMe is a Sri Lankan technology and mobility company primarily known for its ride-hailing application. The company has expanded from a taxi-booking service into a broader on-demand digital platform covering transportation, food, groceries, parcels, trucks, and logistics.

The corporate entity operating the business is Digital Mobility Solutions Lanka PLC (DMSL), while PickMe serves as the consumer-facing brand. The company is headquartered in Colombo, Sri Lanka. 1

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PickMe states that Digital Mobility Solutions Lanka was founded in June 2015, though the original concept and prototype development trace back to 2014. 3

The origins of PickMe lie with Zulfer Hassen, who previously served as CTO at the Sri Lankan e-commerce company wow.lk. In 2014, he identified an opportunity to modernize Sri Lanka’s fragmented and traditional transportation industry through technology.

After developing an initial prototype, Hassen secured early investment from Ajit Gunewardene, Ruchi Gunewardene, Interblocks Limited, and LOLC Technology Services Limited. Digital Mobility Solutions Lanka was subsequently formed, with MAS Holdings and Hirdaramani Group later joining as institutional investors.

The first version of PickMe focused on solving a specific problem: connecting passengers needing transportation with nearby drivers via a digital platform. This concept evolved into a larger technology ecosystem.

Early Growth

According to the company’s historical account, PickMe experienced rapid expansion in its early years. Within its first few years, the company reported attracting US$3 million in venture capital, reaching Rs. 1 billion in revenue, achieving profitability, and growing from a team of three to approximately 180 employees.

While often compared to global ride-hailing giants, PickMe has evolved beyond simple taxi booking into a multi-service super-app. The platform connects customers, drivers, merchants, and businesses through technology.

The evolution can be summarized as:
Taxi app → Ride-hailing platform → Multi-service super-app / digital mobility ecosystem

PickMe Ride

This core service established the brand. Customers enter their pickup location and destination, receive an estimated fare, and are matched with available drivers. The app provides driver details, live tracking, and estimated arrival times.

Vehicle categories include:

• Tuk
• Flex
• Mini
• Car
• Mini Van
• Van

These categories cater to different needs regarding price, passenger capacity, and comfort.

Key features include advance booking, multiple stops, live location sharing, SOS functionality, ride tracking, estimated fares, and 24/7 customer support.

PickMe Food

PickMe Food expanded the company’s operations into food delivery. Users can order meals from restaurants and other food businesses with live delivery tracking. The platform currently connects customers with over 4,000 merchants, including restaurants, cloud kitchens, and home-based food businesses.

PickMe Market

PickMe Market extends the platform into everyday commerce. It allows customers to order products such as groceries, household essentials, pharmaceuticals, and other daily goods. The operational model mirrors food delivery but offers a broader range of items.

PickMe Flash

PickMe Flash is the on-demand parcel delivery service. It utilizes the existing vehicle and driver network to transport packages between locations rather than passengers. This strategy leverages empty or available vehicle capacity to generate additional demand outside of passenger journeys.

PickMe Truck

PickMe Truck targets heavy-goods transportation and logistics. The service is designed for households, SMEs, commercial customers, and corporate clients. It offers various truck sizes and supports both one-way and round-trip transportation. Features advertised include live tracking, goods-in-transit insurance, and optional loading/unloading assistance.

Technology is central to PickMe’s operations. The company describes its platform as utilizing advanced technology, Big Data, data analytics, and increasingly AI to optimize demand-supply matching and user experience.

The platform functions as a real-time marketplace coordinator, managing simultaneous requests from customers, drivers, restaurants, and delivery partners across varying levels of demand in different locations.

Revenue Structure

PickMe’s business model relies on facilitating transactions. Revenue mechanisms vary by service but generally involve commissions or fees associated with:

• Ride commissions/platform fees
• Food delivery transactions
• Merchant commissions
• Delivery charges
• Logistics services
• Business solutions

A key advantage of this model is that a single technology infrastructure supports multiple business lines, allowing cross-platform usage where a customer might use the same app for a morning ride, lunch delivery, and afternoon parcel dispatch.

Drivers are integral to the PickMe ecosystem. The company emphasizes integrating drivers into a formal, technology-enabled network. Drivers undergo training in communication skills, behavioral standards, technology usage, financial management, and incentive structures. PickMe also highlights initiatives providing drivers with benefits such as insurance coverage.

In 2024, Digital Mobility Solutions Lanka launched its initial public offering (IPO) and became listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. According to the FY2024/25 annual report, the IPO launched on 13 September 2024 and was oversubscribed on its first day. This transition marked PickMe’s shift from a privately backed startup to a publicly listed technology company.

For FY2024/25, the company reported:

• Rs. 57 billion in Gross Transaction Value (up 47% year-over-year)
• Rs. 5.8 billion in group revenue (up 49%)
• 70% growth in Profit Before Tax

The corporate website states that the platform has facilitated over 200 million journeys, covered more than 900 million kilometres, and processed over Rs. 100 billion in transactions.

PickMe’s stated core purpose is “Joyful Mobility For A Better Life.” The mission focuses on making mobility more efficient, reliable, safe, convenient, and technology-driven.

The company positions itself as having a social and environmental role. It argues that improved matching between drivers and passengers reduces unnecessary driving and idle time. Additionally, PickMe promotes social and economic participation through its network of partners, aiming to connect customers with communities requiring support.

It is important to distinguish between the brand and the legal entity:

• PickMe: Consumer-facing brand/platform
• Digital Mobility Solutions Lanka PLC: Corporate/legal entity

Jiffry Zulfer Hassen is the founder and CEO. The leadership team includes executives responsible for technology, rides operations, finance, marketing, HR, information security, and food/market operations.

PickMe represents a significant example of technology-driven disruption in Sri Lanka’s traditional industries. By replacing street hailing and telephone calls with smartphone-based GPS matching and digital records, it fundamentally altered consumer interaction with transportation.

The company’s trajectory is visualized as follows:

• 2014: Transportation problem identified
• 2015: Launch of PickMe/Digital Mobility Solutions
• Early Years: Focus on ride-hailing and driver networks
• Expansion: Introduction of Food delivery
• Further Expansion: Launch of Market/everyday commerce
• Logistics Expansion: Introduction of Flash parcel delivery
• Heavy Logistics: Launch of Truck services
• 2024: IPO and listing on Colombo Stock Exchange
• 2025–2026: Emphasis on data, AI, and broader on-demand ecosystems

Current strategy involves deepening urban and semi-urban presence while expanding technology-driven ecosystems and investing in data analytics and AI.

PickMe, operated by Digital Mobility Solutions Lanka PLC, is a Sri Lankan technology and mobility platform founded in 2015. Initially established as a ride-hailing service, the company has expanded into food delivery, marketplace commerce, parcel delivery, and logistics, becoming a publicly listed company on the Colombo Stock Exchange in 2024.

1. About Pickme | Digital Mobility Solutions Lanka PLC – PickMe.lk
2. Investor Relations | PickMe – Financial Reports & Governance
3. Official PickMe website