PickMe eyes Island-wide expansion with AI-powered push

Digital Mobility Solutions Lanka PLC (DMSL), the company behind the popular PickMe app, is setting its sights on an AI-driven expansion into untapped, high-impact opportunities across digital mobility and logistics, according to its recently released annual report for the 2024/25 financial year.

This strategic push comes as the company celebrates a decade of operations and a strong financial performance in its first year as a publicly listed entity, alongside ambitious plans for island-wide service coverage within the next two years.

PickMe's management has articulated a definitive strategy to leverage its significant technological resources and artificial intelligence to transform Sri Lanka's transportation and logistics sector. The company's annual report for 2024/25 emphasizes a "Future of Endless Possibilities," underscoring its ambition to move beyond its core ride-hailing and delivery services.

This growth is built on a significant user base, with the platform connecting over 1.3 million consumers with over 100,000 independent drivers and over 4,500 independent merchants. By the end of FY24/25, the company's unique user base had grown by 49 percent to over 1.34 million, with new consumer acquisition peaking at over 250,000 in a single month.

"We see a significant growth runway ahead, driven by untapped, high-impact opportunities across digital mobility, logistics enablement, and adjacent platform services," PickMe Founder and CEO Jiffry Zulfer stated.

He highlighted that transactions facilitated through the PickMe platform currently represent a mere 2.6 percent of Sri Lanka's overall mobility activity, indicating substantial potential for technology-led transformation.

A key enabler of this future growth will be artificial intelligence, according to PickMe Chairman Ajit D. Gunewardene. "We are entering an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered future. Our consistent investment in technology and intellectual property, which is in excess of Rs. 1.0 Bn annually, is about to yield exponential returns,” he noted.

He elaborated that AI is set to significantly enhance operations by driving smarter decision-making, improving user interactions, and enabling more intuitive, efficient experiences. Zulfer echoed this sentiment, explaining the company's focus on "AI-powered systems that drive intelligent dispatching, dynamic demand forecasting, and continuous product innovation."

During the 2024/25 fiscal year, PickMe already saw benefits from its tech investments, with enhanced dispatch algorithms leading to an 11 percent reduction in average consumer wait times and the adoption of AI-driven demand forecasting.

The company plans to scale its core infrastructure to improve compute efficiency, reduce cost per transaction, and enhance system responsiveness. These investments are deemed vital for expanding transaction capacity and unlocking new service verticals. 

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