The Indian startup ecosystem and public market are abuzz with anticipation of one of this year’s most awaited IPOs, Swiggy. However, as analysts and investors dive into the company’s prospects in a market otherwise dominated by its rival Zomato, they are seemingly getting cold feet. 

The reason? Well, for one, the Swiggy IPO currently raises two major concerns — a high valuation and hefty losses on the books. On top of this, the foodtech platform is now set to increase its IPO size as well. For the uninitiated, Swiggy has received the shareholders’ approval to increase the size of its fresh issue to INR 5,000 Cr from an earlier INR 3,750 Cr.

Besides, as per its DRHP, the IPO also comprises an offer for sale (OFS) component of 18.53 Cr equity shares. Together, this could increase the startup’s total IPO size to more than INR 10,000 Cr, expected to be around $1.5 Bn. 

Swiggy is also eyeing a valuation of $15 Bn, which is higher than the $7 Bn valuation at which Zomato went public. Though the initial response to Zomato’s IPO was great, the stock was under significant pressure in the next one year. 

While it is true that business-specific reasons and an overall negative market sentiment adversely impacted Zomato’s market performance, in Swiggy’s case, the concerns cannot be completely brushed off.

However, amid all the buzz and scepticism enveloping the prospect of this IPO, one factor is clear – public market investors would not like to miss the opportunity to ride on the food delivery or quick commerce growth bandwagon.

If we look back to when Zomato was listed in 2021, the Indian investors were new to the concept of food delivery and its overall potential. However, several significant developments have happened since then in the food delivery ecosystem. 

Besides, quick commerce has now entered the delivery realm to change the rules of the ecommerce game, and Swiggy’s Instamart is definitely one of the top industry players.

Despite tailwinds, Swiggy has some humongous challenges to deal with before it starts marching towards the IPO street where its competitor, Zomato, has already established its dominance with a $28 Bn market cap and much stronger fundamentals.

Swiggy Vs Zomato: An Apple To Apple Comparison

The Indian food delivery space is currently a duopoly with Zomato holding about a 55% market share and the rest being cherished by Swiggy. While quick commerce has become a major driver of their businesses in the recent past, food delivery continues to be the biggest contributor to their top lines.

However, IPO-bound Swiggy is far behind its listed rival. Swiggy’s food delivery gross order value (GOV) stood at INR 24,717 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), while Zomato clocked INR 32,224 Cr. Zomato also saw stronger growth in FY24, with its GOV rising by 20% year-on-year (YoY), compared to Swiggy’s 15% YoY increase.

In the June quarter (Q1) of FY25, Zomato’s food delivery GOV stood at INR 9,264 Cr, while Swiggy’s stood at INR 6,808.3 Cr. In Q1, Zomato also had a higher average monthly transacting customers at 20.3 Mn users compared to Swiggy’s 14.03 Mn.

Despite the wide gap between Swiggy and Zomato, what makes Swiggy a great bet? “Swiggy will do well in the IPO considering investors have high hopes on quick commerce business,” Umesh Chandra Paliwal, cofounder and CEO of UnlistedZone said, adding that Zomato’s success today is also mainly due to the quick commerce business, Blinkit. UnlistedZone is an unlisted share trading platform. 

Besides, Brokerage Bernstein also acknowledges that quick commerce has become the dominant force in India’s ecommerce structure. 

However, Swiggy is trailing behind Zomato in this area, too.

Notably, in FY24, Swiggy posted a GOV of INR 8,068.6 Cr in quick commerce, up over 57% YoY. Meanwhile, Zomato’s Blinkit clocked INR 12,469 Cr in FY24 GOV, up 93% YoY. This was despite an equal number of dark stores at around 520 at the end of FY24.

It is imperative to mention that the two delivery giants face stiff competition from Zepto in the quick delivery space. Meanwhile, Zomato is way ahead of Swiggy in the going-out segment.

HSBC Global Research recently noted that Swiggy has slightly outperformed Zomato in average order value (AOV) in food delivery over the past year, likely due to its stronger presence in cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru. In FY24, Swiggy’s AOV for food delivery was INR 427.8, and it rose to INR 436 in Q1 FY25, compared to Zomato’s AOV of INR 420.2 and INR 425 during the same periods.

Overall, while an apple-to-apple comparison of the two businesses is necessary, Bernstein notes that “the debate on Zomato vs Swiggy is beyond comparing metrics.”

To understand the two businesses one needs to appreciate the divergent business philosophies – build vs buy, super app vs super brands, innovator vs operator, it said in a report. 

The brokerage added that both companies have had different approaches leading to different outcomes in terms of market share, growth and profitability.

“Swiggy has a super app which bundles food delivery and quick commerce. The loyalty program is common – Swiggy One. This allows a stronger frequency (4.5X) at a lower monthly transactional user (MTU) (about 12 Mn). Zomato operates at a lower frequency (3.5X) but a higher base (20 Mn MTU). Both are solving for different outcomes – Swiggy solves for superior LTV/CAC (and higher profitability). Zomato has expanded through aggressive new user acquisition,” as per Bernstein analysts.

Meanwhile, Prashanth Tapse, senior VP (research) at Mehta Equities, believes that Swiggy and Zomato will upscale their business models going ahead.

“Today, they are not just online food delivery companies. Going forward, they will be platforms connecting customers in many other businesses. If we look globally, food delivery companies like DoorDash and Uber Eats have significantly changed their business models to foray into several other segments. So, going forward, a similar thing will happen with Swiggy and Zomato. In the next three 3-5 years, they will have many other business models where the valuation is getting higher,” Tapse said.

So, Who Should Invest In Swiggy?

At a time when Swiggy is faced with a valuation problem, Paliwal sees Zomato, too, sitting on a high valuation — while other experts view it as a new normal.

To draw an analogy, Ola Electric’s IPO had a high valuation that equally made market experts raise eyebrows. Its INR 6,000 Cr public offering at a $4 Bn valuation was well-subscribed but saw a muted listing.

Meanwhile, Swiggy’s current valuation is still lower compared to Zomato, which is also a direct reflection of the latter’s outperformance in all business verticals.

On the other hand, Mehta Equities’ Tapse believes that only long-term investors should invest in the IPO of Swiggy.

“For long-term investors, both Swiggy and Zomato should be in their portfolio. However, investors should invest in these kinds of businesses treating them as startups only and not big tech companies… there can be ups and downs in these businesses in terms of profitability,” Tapse said.

In addition, the analyst anticipates Swiggy to achieve profitability in the coming months on the back of a sustainable platform fee. In all its glory, Swiggy can also emerge as a multi-bagger, despite falling behind its closest competitor Zomato, analysts believe.

“However, short-term trades will burn hands,” Tapse concluded. 

Amid debates, discussions, concerns and opportunities, Swiggy’s unlisted shares are trading at INR 485-INR 515 zone in the grey market. Two months ago, its shares were trading at INR 425 apiece.

To sum it all up, analysts see enough demand in the market for Swiggy’s IPO. However, a valuation discount will only increase the interest for its much-anticipated public offering.

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]

The post Can Swiggy Replicate Zomato’s Success On The Bourses? appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Logistics startup BlackBuck’s parent entity Zinka Logistics Solutions has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its more than INR 550 Cr IPO. 

As per SEBI’s document, BlackBuck was issued the final observation letter by the markets regulator on October 3.

Backed by marquee investors like Peak XV, Accel, Tiger Global and others, the logistics unicorn, which is an online marketplace for truckers and freight operators, filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in July.

Its issue comprises fresh equity of shares worth INR 550 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) component of up to 2.16 Cr shares.

BlackBuck’s three cofounders Rajesh Yabaji, Chanakya Hridaya and Rama Subramaniam are set to offload 44.37 Lakh shares in total under the OFS portion. While Yabaji will offload 22.18 Lakh shares, the other two cofounders will sell 11.09 Lakh shares each, as per the startup’s DRHP.

The company is looking to utilise INR 200 Cr of the net proceeds from its fresh issuance towards sales and marketing costs and INR 140 Cr for investment in its NBFC subsidiary,  Blackbuck Finserve Private Limited. Some of the net proceeds will also be used towards product development and general corporate purposes.

Axis Capital, Morgan Stanley, JM Financial, and IIFL Securities are the lead book-running lead managers in this IPO.

Founded in 2015 by IIT Kharagpur alumni Yabaji, Hridaya, and Subramaniam, BlackBuck is a B2B marketplace specialising in inter-city full truckload (FTL) transportation. In simple terms, it connects truck operators with small and big businesses with shipping requirements in real-time via its tech-enabled platform and operates pan-India. 

The startup’s app serves as a comprehensive platform, providing solutions for payments, telematics, load management, and vehicle financing. Besides, BlackBuck also offers vehicle financing solutions, enabling truck operators to purchase used commercial vehicles or get financing on existing ones. 

While BlackBuck continues to be a loss-making entity, its net loss narrowed by over 30% to INR 194 Cr in FY24 from INR 290.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, its operating revenue also jumped 69% to INR 296.9 Cr during the last fiscal from INR 175.6 Cr in FY23.

BlackBuck’s decision to go public comes amid an IPO boom in the Indian market. Riding this boom, 10 Indian startups, including the major names like ixigo, Ola Electric, FirstCry, and Go Digit, have already gone public this year.

Currently, the much-awaited public listing of Swiggy is also in the pipeline this year, along with Ather Energy, MobiKwik, and BlackBuck, among a few others.

The post BlackBuck Gets SEBI Nod For INR 550 Cr IPO appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The tremors of the explosion of India’s startup ecosystem are now being felt in smaller towns and cities, too. While Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, and Mumbai continue to wear the crown for being the top tech startup hubs of the nation, their reign is being challenged by cities like Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Jaipur, which are currently being touted as more conducive for budding entrepreneurs.

Interestingly, per Inc42’s report, ‘Indian Tech Startup Funding Report H1 2024’, Pune is the most promising emerging startup hub to have garnered significant investor interest. With a total of $4.7 Bn raised across 355 deals between 2014 and 2023, the city is also one of the fastest-growing startup hubs in India. 

In the first half of the year alone, Pune-based startups cumulatively raised more than $241 Mn across 18 deals. In fact, Pune was one of the top emerging startup hubs of 2023, when it raised $211 Mn in 30 deals.

Notably, some of the top investors who have shown faith in Pune’s potential to foster startups are InnoVen Capital, Elevation Capital, and Accel. Consequently, the city has become home to some of the most promising startups, including FirstCry, logistics unicorn Xpressbees, lending platform Fibe, SoftBank-backed B2B ecommerce unicorn ElasticRun, and cloud data protection unicorn Druva.

In the first half of 2024, Fibe raised $90 Mn in its Series E funding round led by TR Capital, Trifecta Capital and Amara Partner; housing finance startup Altum Credo bagged around $40 Mn in its Series C funding round, and deeptech startup Ecozen raised $30 Mn in funding.

Among the other top Pune-based startups raising funds in H1 2024 were OneCard, AmberStudent, and EV manufacturer EKA Mobility.

Speaking with Inc42, Aditya Oza, cofounder and chief marketing officer of Pune-based EV maker Emotorad said that the city has grown by leaps and bounds from where it used to be a decade ago. Until 2019, Pune wasn’t on the list of cities with unicorns, but now, the city has minted close to 10 unicorns in just four years, he noted.

The electric bicycle manufacturing startup, Emotorad has been operating from Pune for more than four years. It is backed by MS Dhoni and VC firms like Green Frontier Capital, Panthera Growth Partners, and more. The startup has raised more than $23 Mn to date.

Meanwhile, it is imperative to note that several factors align to elevate Pune’s position as the next Bengaluru in the making. For one, Pune has a location advantage like none other due to its proximity to India’s financial capital, Mumbai. 

Besides, it is a renowned industrial hub and one of the top contributors to Maharashtra’s economy. The city enjoys pleasant weather around the year.

So, What Else Makes Pune A Worthy Candidate? 

Alongside geographical advantages, several key factors contribute to Pune’s growing role in the startup ecosystem. For instance, the city benefits from a strong industry-academia interface, a supportive state government, and the rising zeal of the young to become entrepreneurs.

“Recent years have witnessed significant improvements and policy initiatives aimed at bolstering the city’s startup landscape. Moreover, a significant number of Pune’s 5 Mn residents are between the ages of 15 and 35, making the city an ideal location to attract young, ambitious talent,” venture principal at Green Frontier Capital, Karan Mehta, said.

Green Frontier Capital, which is a climate-focussed VC fund, has invested in two Pune-based startups so far – Emotorad and agritech startup Nutrifresh.

Mehta added that the Maharashtra government has introduced a range of policies to foster entrepreneurship in the region. He also noted that Pune has become home to multiple incubators and accelerators in the recent past, including Venture Center, T-Hub, and Startup Oasis, which offer mentorship, funding, and networking opportunities to aspiring entrepreneurs. 

Consequently, VC funding in startups based in Pune is also witnessing a noticeable increase, especially in sectors such as fintech, health tech, and edtech.

Meanwhile, Emotorad’s cofounder observed that the city’s startup fervour has given a positive nudge to salaries in the region. He said that the rise in salaries in the past few years has increased the cost of living to some extent. 

However, a 2023 report by Stanza Living suggests that the cost of living in Bengaluru is about 15% higher than in Pune. This makes the city an attractive proposition for entry and mid-level talent.

“The city has exploded in population, especially the young folks… what will happen to Pune in the next ten years is what happened to Bengaluru,” Oza said. 

Meanwhile, Green Frontier’s Mehta believes that the proximity to esteemed institutions like the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) and the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) has also facilitated collaborations between academia and industry, driving innovation.

Roadblocks On The Way

Despite optimism, the city is far behind Bengaluru, Delhi NCR and Mumbai in several areas. For instance, talent is still a challenge in smaller cities like Pune. Another major challenge is that the city is an industrial hub, Maharashtra’s second largest, and therefore the availability of tech talent is scarce.

“Talent availability is increasing in some areas only. But we still have a lot of catching up to do compared to Gurugram and Bengaluru,” Oza said. 

Besides, Green Frontier’s Mehta notes that Pune needs to improve its connectivity to major cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru. This would help the city enhance market access and capital flows for its startups.

“Pune is also facing challenges related to infrastructure and public transport, leading to increased travel time within the city… However, it has the potential to expand beyond the city limits. One potential solution could involve the government establishing large complexes similar to GIFT city, along with tax incentives on income and investments,” Mehta added.

He believes that streamlining bureaucratic processes and improving the overall ease of doing business will also support the growth of startups in Pune.

Overall, Pune is carving out a prominent spot on India’s startup map, thanks to the state government’s seriousness towards fostering entrepreneurship. Nourishing this is the growing interest of investors who have seen several unicorns galloping from the region. 

In addition, the industry-academia interface in the region is worth noting, given the city’s deep industrial roots. While much has yet to be done, Pune is only slated for a north-bond journey in becoming a crucible of Indian startups going ahead.

Meanwhile, despite the funding winter that plagued the ecosystem for the past two years, India’s startup funding surged past the $150 Bn mark in the first half of 2024.

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]

The post How Pune Is Fast Becoming A Hotbed For Startups In India appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Update | October 12, 08:20 PM: The headline and the article have been edited to clearly explain the impact of sale of Navi Finserv’s former subsidiary Chaitanya India Fin Credit Private Limited.

Flipkart cofounder Sachin Bansal-led fintech startup Navi Technologies’ subsidiary Navi Finserv’s consolidated operating revenue stood at INR 1,906.2 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) as against INR 2,040.6 Cr in FY23. 

However, the numbers are not comparable as the FY23 numbers also included income from Navi Finserv’s former subsidiary Chaitanya India Fin Credit Private Limited. The startup divested its entire stake in the subsidiary during FY24. 

Excluding the revenue of Chaitanya India in FY23, Navi Finserv’s operating revenue rose about 48% from INR 1,283 Cr. 

Meanwhile, following the sale of the subsidiary, the consolidated profit after tax (PAT) from continued operations slipped 56% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 115.6 Cr in FY24. 

The profit from discontinued operations stood at INR 429.5 Cr.

Including the profit of Chaitanya, the startup’s total consolidated net profit also more than doubled to INR 545.1 Cr in FY24 from INR 264.2 Cr in the previous year.

In August 2023, Ananya Birla-led Svatantra Microfin Pvt Ltd signed a definitive agreement to acquire Chaitanya for INR 1,479 Cr and completed the acquisition in November 2023. 

Earlier, Bansal acquired Chaitanya Rural Intermediation Development Services (CRIDS) via BAC Acquisitions (now Navi Technologies) in 2019. CRIDS was later rebranded as Chaitanya India Fin Credit. The acquisition helped Navi acquire an NBFC licence. However, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rejected Chaitanya India Fin Credit’s application for an ‘on tap’ universal banking licence in 2022.

Navi Finserv was incorporated in 2012 and provides various kinds of loans, including personal, vehicle, and home loans. A majority of its revenue comes from interest income on loans, investments, and deposits with banks.

On a standalone basis, the startup’s total interest income grew nearly 36% to INR 1,611.1 Cr from INR 1,180.8 Cr in FY23. Its net gain on derecognition of financial instruments under amortised cost category almost doubled to INR 102.4 Cr during the year under review from INR 51.7 Cr in the previous year.

Navi Finserv’s total asset under management (AUM) stood at INR 8,527.2 Cr in FY24 growing from INR 6,791 Cr at the end of FY23. The startup also had total loan disbursements worth INR 16,006 Cr in FY24 as against INR 12,630 Cr the year before.

Zooming Into Expenses

Though not comparable, Navi Finserv’s total expenses saw a marginal increase to INR 1,750.4 Cr in the reported year from INR 1,743.9 Cr in FY23, with finance cost alone comprising over 37% of its total spending.

Finance Cost: The startup’s finance cost declined about 5% to INR 657.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 691.6 Cr in the year before.

Employee Cost: Navi Finsev cut its employee benefit expenses by a massive 42% to INR 149.9 Cr in FY24 from INR 257.9 Cr in the year before.

It spent INR 120.3 Cr on salaries, wages and bonuses in the year under review as against INR 217.1 Cr the previous year.

The decline could be attributed to the sale of Chaitanya. On a standalone basis, expenses under this bucket increased 77% YoY to INR 149.9 Cr in FY24.

Loans Written Off: The company’s spending on loan write-offs jumped to INR 406.2 Cr in FY24 from INR 125.4 Cr in the year before on a consolidated basis.

On a standalone basis, the loans written off saw a bigger jump of 275% YoY.

Overall, its impairment on financial instruments stood at INR 495.6 Cr in FY24.

“Our AUM growth scaled up in the last two quarters of FY23 leading to passover of P&L impact in FY 24. At the overall level, our credit costs for FY24 is at 6.7% of average quarterly AUM as compared to 7% of average quarterly AUM for FY23. Provision coverage ratio for FY24 stands at about 88% vis-a-vis about 83% for FY23,” said Navi Finserv in a statement. 

Software Support Charges: Navi Finserv’s spending under this head grew over 50% YoY to INR 248.2 Cr in FY24.

Navi Finserv converted into a public entity in March 2022. Its holding company Navi Technologies got SEBI’s nod for IPO but didn’t go ahead with public listing plans.

In July this year, Navi Finserv did a final close of a $38 Mn personal loans securitisation deal with JP Morgan. 

Earlier this year, the company also raised INR 150 Cr via bond issuance from several investors, including Dadachanji Group chairman Kairus Shavak Dadachanji, Pervin Kairus Dadachanji, and Rishad Kairus Dadachanji. 

The post Navi Finserv Posts INR 1,906 Cr Revenue In FY24 After Sale Of NBFC Subsidiary appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Fuelled by the Indian government’s seriousness towards increasing local electronic equipment manufacturing and reducing the country’s reliance on imports, semiconductors talks have taken centre stage, and the nation appears to be hell-bent on solidifying its position as a global semiconductor hub.

The Centre’s policy push to enable global giants to establish semicon fabs in the country and its intention to create a highly efficient semiconductor value chain has only made this realm more attractive to venture capitalists (VCs). 

In line with this thesis, a recent Inc42 survey of 50 VC and debt firms (part of the Inc42’s latest ‘Indian Tech Startup Funding Report, Q3 2024’) revealed that 92% of investors are optimistic about India’s semiconductor ambitions and are willing to invest.

Besides, as many as 63% of these investors said they are willing to fund intellectual property (IP)-focussed chip startups, while 58% are willing to fund semiconductor design services. 

Meanwhile, since the IP-focussed chip firm Nvidia surpassed the world’s top chip manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) in market cap, the early investors are expecting better long-term returns in the semicon IP space.

It is pertinent to note that in recent months, as the semiconductor ecosystem started seeing funding flow from external investors, a majority of the funds have gone into fabless IP developers or system-on-chip (SoC) startups that are combining hardware and software (IP) to create application-specific systems.

For instance, in 2023, InCore was backed by Peak XV Partners and SoC developer Mindgrove received funding from Peak XV and Speciale Invest. Recently, SoC solutions provider BigEndian Semiconductors raised $3 Mn in its seed funding round led by Vertex Ventures SEA & India. 

On the other hand, Integrated Circuits (ICs) design startup FermionIC Design also raised $6 Mn recently from Lucky Investment Managers’ Ashish Kacholia and his associates.

Also, this pool size is expanding from a handful of investors, including Peak XV, Speciale Invest, Exfinity Ventures, Celesta Capital, Whiteboard Capital, and IndiaQuotient, who have bet big on semiconductor companies till 2023.

So, What Do VCs Have To Say?

Moving on, about 21% of the investors who participated in the survey are interested in investing in semiconductor fabs, even though India’s fabrication story has yet to take off in a big way. Also, a few multinational companies have just started establishing their manufacturing plants in the country.

Besides, chip manufacturing is a highly cost-intensive business, therefore this is not the area VCs are skewed towards. Rather, top semiconductor investors believe that the fab manufacturers need support from the government. 

However, as the fabrication industry becomes more established and India begins to cater to the global market with domestically manufactured chips, it might also become attractive for the VCs in the future.

Speaking with Inc42, Peak XV’s managing director Mohit Bhatnagar said, “It is a foregone conclusion that semiconductors are strategically important for India and therefore, it is inevitable that we will build all aspects of the semiconductor value chain here. We are starting with the design and, over time, it will get into the larger capex-intensive play. But it is hard to argue that 10 years from now, we will not have much more advanced semiconductor capabilities in the country.”

Bhatnagar said that the reason behind this development is partly because 20% of the world’s semiconductor design workforce, people who worked at Intel, AMD, and other top global semiconductor firms, is in India today.

Arjun Rao of Speciale Invest often highlights that the country should currently be focussing on becoming self-reliant in designing and developing chips.

“India will build fabs over a longer period but to build chips and systems and products for hoards of applications, we need product design talent and engineering talent,” Rao told Inc42 in a conversation earlier this year. 

In fact, Speciale Invest is interested in the market opportunity created by applications and startups building SoCs for these applications.

“Speciale is interested in the market opportunity that millions of units of fans, fridges, microwaves, wearable, two-wheelers, four-wheelers, smart cities, industrial setups, factories, and robotics create for different types of sensors, controllers, actuators, and chips. If we can indigenously design and develop these chips, the fabrications can be done anywhere till India has its own fabs,” Rao had said.

He highlighted Speciale Invest’s investment in Morphing Machines, which is building its IP-led processor REDEFINE – one of the few many-core processors in the world that integrates various domain-specific architectures (DSAs) on a single chip.

Meanwhile, as per Inc42’s estimates, India’s semiconductor market is set to breach the $150 Bn mark by 2030, with AI chips contributing $21 Bn to it.

Gujarat Gets A Shot In The Arm

While Bengaluru has so far been the hub for semiconductor companies in India (in terms of the concentration of these companies in the city), VCs now believe that Ahmedabad is all set to change that and emerge as the country’s prime semiconductor hub.

As per Inc42’s survey, 59% of investors agree with the aforementioned statement, while 50% believe Bengaluru will continue to retain its position as the country’s only semiconductor hub. Next, at least 50% of investors voted for Hyderabad in the survey, which allowed respondents to choose multiple cities.

A majority of investors are placing significant bets on Ahmedabad because the Indian government has laid the groundwork for multiple fabs to spring up in Gujarat. In June 2023, the cabinet approved Micron’s proposal for setting up a semiconductor unit in Sanand, Ahmedabad.

The government approved three more semiconductor units in February this year. Tata Electronics is also setting up a semiconductor fab in Dholera, while CG Power is setting up one semiconductor unit at Sanand in Ahmedabad. Tata Electronics is on track to release its first chip by 2026.

Recently, the Centre also approved the proposal of Kaynes Semicon to set up a semiconductor unit in Gujarat with an investment of INR 3,300 Cr. The company is building its outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) unit in the state.

However, it must be noted that dethroning Bengaluru is not going to be easy, as a majority of the design, IP, and even processor companies continue to emerge from Bengaluru.  

Supporting this growth, as per the former NITI Aayog CEO and India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, is Karnataka’s Bengaluru-Mysuru belt, which offers the “best” ecosystem for semiconductor design and manufacturing in India. 

As of now, barring a few challenges, the semiconductor ecosystem in India is all set to carve a niche in the global market as participation from public and private players strengthens. A testament to this is the total funding raised by homegrown semiconductor startups, which as per Inc42’s latest report shot up 100% on a year-on-year basis to $3.4 Bn in the September quarter.

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]

The post Investors Eye A Pie As India Prepares To Lead The Global Semiconductor Revolution appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Cross-border speciality chemical manufacturing platform Mstack has raised $40 Mn (about INR 335 Cr) in its Series A funding round co-led by Lightspeed and Alphawave. 

The funding round was a mix of equity and debt, with HSBC Innovation Banking providing the debt. The round also saw participation from some unnamed angel investors.

Mstack plans to utilise the fresh funds for further expansion in its biggest market, North America, along with regions like Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia. A portion of these funds will also be used to enhance its R&D capabilities in India and the Middle East to drive innovation and generate more intellectual property.

Founded in 2022 by Shreyans Chopra, Mstack is a custom manufacturing platform focussed on speciality chemicals. It has offices in Bengaluru and Mumbai in India, while its R&D facility is based in Hyderabad. 

Mstack offers mid-to-large scale enterprises a full-stack solution for sourcing speciality chemicals through a reliable supply chain. It claims to have codified its entire operation into a single platform, allowing buyers to source, test, ship, deliver, and track all of their speciality chemicals in one place.

Mstack founder Chopra clarified that the platform is not a marketplace connecting buyers and sellers. 

“We are building our own brand where buyers come to the Mstack platform and buy chemicals under the Mstack brand, but at the backend, instead of building our own capacities and investing crores in capex, we are utilising the existing capacities that are available in emerging markets like India, Saudi Arabia, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam,” Chopra told Inc42.

Currently, it caters to four categories – oil and gas, water treatment, coatings, and home and personal care. With the fresh funding, Mstack also plans to make inroads into agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors.

Mstack’s business is completely export-oriented. However, about 20% of its speciality chemical sourcing happens in India.

“Our suppliers are largely family-owned businesses that have been operating in the chemical industry for the last two to three decades. However, the problem with these emerging markets and the low-cost production countries is that supply is extremely fragmented and unstructured. So, while they are very good with manufacturing, dealing with Western buyers, cross-border logistics, and managing quality at scale are some of the challenges these manufacturers face. So in a way, Mstack is also becoming the catalyst of growth for these SMEs and small factories to go international,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mstack also set up its own R&D lab three months back. About 20% of its revenue comes from its own customised and IP-generated chemicals, the founder claimed.

While Chopra did not disclose the company’s revenue figures, he said Mstack has grown 15X in the last 12 months while also achieving profitability in the June quarter of FY25.

Speaking on the investment, Bejul Somaia, partner at Lightspeed, said, “Geopolitical dynamics pose risks for supply chain disruptions in the global speciality chemicals market. With demand for these chemicals growing rapidly, there is a need to increase R&D investments and unlock new pockets of supply… we believe that the company has tremendous potential to lead this transformation.”

It is pertinent to note that China held the leading market share in this sector so far. However, with the China+1 strategy driving businesses to explore new markets, it is opening doors for countries like India. Mstack currently supplies its speciality chemicals to over 50 enterprises in the US.

“The new round of funding will enable them to unlock the full potential of their tech-driven platform and undertake cutting-edge research, offering high-quality products to customers across the world,” Somaia added.

Mstack competes with the likes of Scimplify and Distil, among others. While Mumbai-based Distil raised $3.1 Mn in funding in June this year, Scimplify raised $9.5 Mn from Omnivore, Bertelsmann, and others in August.

As per a report, the global speciality chemicals market was valued at $800 Bn in 2023 and is expected to reach $1.04 Tn by 2029.

The post Speciality Chemical Startup Mstack Raises $40 Mn To Bolster R&D In India, Middle East appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In another boost to India’s space exploration ambitions, the union cabinet recently cleared multiple new programmes.

The newly approved proposals include the next moon mission – Chandrayaan-4, the development of the first module of the Bharatiya Anatriksh Station (BAS-1), and the development of a Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV).

Besides, the cabinet also approved the development of the Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM) to expand India’s space frontier beyond the Moon and Mars.

While the new developments do not have any direct impact on the Indian spacetech startups, the ecosystem could benefit due to the trickle down effect. 

As a result of the growing collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and private spacetech players, many startups are already working on critical projects like building spacecraft, rockets, launch vehicles, imaging technology, and much more. 

Previously, Delhi NCR-based Omnipresent Robot Technologies worked with ISRO to support the navigation of the Pragyaan Rover, which was a part of Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission.

Additionally, a few other Indian startups and companies were also directly involved with the success of Chandrayaan-3 mission. These included Paras Defence, which supplied the navigation system for the spacecraft; MTAR Technologies, which manufactured the lander’s propulsion system; and Ananth Technologies, which helped build the lander’s camera.

Now, Indian startups are counting on this pattern of collaborations with ISRO to benefit from the approval of the new space programmes. 

Emphasising the possibilities of more such collaborations, Lt. Gen. AK Bhatt (Retd.), director general at the Indian Space Association (ISpA), said, “While ISRO is targeting to land an Indian on the Moon by 2040, the industry is making minor yet significant contributions, by providing components used in missions such as Chandrayaan-3. As ISRO expands its scope, collaborations with the private sector are expected to grow, fostering innovation and efficiency.”

ISpA is an apex industry body which has been set up to enhance the collaborative development of the private space industry in the country.

Beyond collaborations, the success of the aforementioned missions could also push the Indian space industry into the fast lane. According to industry experts, these projects can open the floodgates for more international opportunities for Indian spacetech startups and increasing funding prospects.

Commenting on the new initiatives, spacetech startup Pixxel’s cofounder and CEO Awais Ahmed said, “These initiatives show that India is serious about becoming a global space leader, which will undoubtedly uplift the private sector, even if it’s not an immediate and direct impact. It’s more about the long term, larger ecosystem benefits that will help startups grow and innovate”.

New Programmes To Shine A Spotlight On Spacetech Startups?

Buoyed by the liberalisation of the Indian space sector in the past few years, the homegrown spacetech economy has taken off in a big way and has benefited tremendously from the opening up of the space industry to private players.

As part of its efforts to promote private players in the sector, the Centre also established the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) as a nodal agency to support emerging startups. The spacetech startups are now able to access ISRO’s labs for research and development purposes. 

Earlier this year, the Indian government also opened up the space sector for foreign direct investments (FDI) by allowing 100% FDI in certain sub-sectors. Besides, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman also announced setting up INR 1,000 Cr VC fund for the space sector during the Union Budget 2024-25.

All of these initiatives, coupled with the credibility that ISRO holds, have made international investors positive about investing in India’s spacetech sector. 

Experts believe that the approval for the new space programmes will only add to this bullishness and further bolster the confidence of global investors towards the Indian spacetech sector. 

Ahmed said the rise in India’s profile in the space exploration sector increases the likelihood of international partnerships and higher funds inflow into the spacetech ecosystem. This will indirectly benefit spacetech startups.

On a similar note, Srinath Ravichandran, cofounder of Agnikul, said, “These missions enhance India’s global space market position, potentially opening up new international opportunities for startups. This environment is positive for attracting investments, securing customers, and engaging vendors, creating a platform indirectly for growth and innovation in the spacetech sector.”

Further ISpA’s Bhatt believes that the liberalisation of the FDI regime will bring in funds from global investors for spacetech startups, which would help the latter in achieving their goals. Once they are able to build their complete array of products and services, they would be in a position to get clients from across the globe, he said.

Ravichandran also believes that the new space programmes would pave the way for Indian spacetech startups to show their technology and solutions to ISRO.

It is pertinent to note that Agnikul itself has been working with ISRO for building its launch vehicle Agnibaan. The two organisations signed a pact in 2021 that allows Agnikul access to ISRO facilities and expertise for the development and testing of subsystems/ systems of space launch vehicles.

On the other hand, Pixxel, which is building hyperspectral imaging satellites for earth observation, has been collaborating with ISRO for the satellite launches.

“Startups can benefit from the overall ecosystem getting a boost, as government-led missions tend to drive innovation across supply chains, manufacturing, and data processing,” Pixxel’s Ahmed said. 

The announcement of the new space programmes come at a time when the Indian private space sector is at an inflection point. India’s overall space economy is projected to become a $77 Bn+ market opportunity by 2030.

Besides, the Indian spacetech startups are not just eyeing the Indian market but also global opportunities. As such, the approval for the space programmes has opened a window of opportunity for these startups to expand their presence.

The post Can India’s New Space Missions Launch The Country’s Spacetech Startups Into A New Orbit? appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Electric two-wheeler registrations in India seem to be witnessing another trend shift as the escooter sales of Bajaj Auto touched an all-time high in September, surpassing TVS Motor and inching closer towards Ola Electric’s registrations.

Bajaj Auto recorded 18,933 EV registrations last month, growing from 16,650 units in August this year, as per Vahan data as of October 1. On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the legacy automotive player witnessed a 166% jump in its Bajaj Chetak sales.

Its market share also increased to a little over 21% last month from 19% in August.

Overall, electric two-wheeler registrations grew marginally by 1% to 88,156 units in September from 87,257 units in August. On a YoY basis, registrations rose over 37% last month.

Recently listed electric mobility startup Ola Electric continued to maintain its top position last month, but its escooter registrations slipped 11% month-on-month (MoM) to 23,965 units. This was also the company’s lowest monthly vehicle sales since October last year, when registrations stood at 23,594 units.

Meanwhile, the Bhavish Aggarwal-led startup also continued to see decline in its market share in the electric two-wheeler market. From a little over 30% market share in August, the EV startup’s share fell to 27% in September.

To address this, Ola Electric recently launched “HyperService” to offer “one-day resolution” of service-related issues. It is pertinent to note that the company has been facing numerous complaints from customers about after-sales service on social media platforms.

Despite this, brokerage Bernstein believes that Ola Electric is on track to achieve EBITDA profitability. It also said recently that Ola Electric has the highest gross margin among its peers. 

Though TVS Motor fell behind Bajaj, its escooter registrations rose 2% MoM to 17,865 units in September. The legacy motorcycle maker’s share in the electric two-wheeler market also increased marginally to a little over 20%.

On the other hand, ahead of its public market debut, Ather Energy is also seeing a rise in its EV sales and market shares. Despite an overall slowdown in escooter sales, Ather’s vehicle registrations jumped over 15% to 12,579 units in September from 10,919 units in the previous month.

Ather also saw an over 75% rise in its vehicle sales on a YoY basis, while its market share increased to over 14% in September as against 12% in August.

However, legacy automotive player Hero MotoCorp, which is also a major shareholder in Ather, continues to face pressure in the electric two-wheeler market. Though its EV sales have grown sharply compared to the beginning of the year, Hero MotoCorp’s electric two-wheeler registrations fell over 9% MoM to 4,174 units last month.

Its EV registrations stood at 4,596 units in August as against 4,945 units in July.

On the other hand, some of the newest electric two-wheeler startups, including River and Ultraviolette, are witnessing slow but steady growth. River’s EV registrations increased 7% MoM to 297 units in September, while Ultraviolette’s electric motorcycle registrations grew to 51 units during the month from 47 units in August.

It is pertinent to note that the sales of two-wheeler EVs underwent significant volatility this year amid the government lowering the demand subsidy under the FAME scheme. While the industry was waiting for the third iteration of the Centre’s FAME scheme, the cabinet approved a new scheme in September—the ‘PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) Scheme’.

The new scheme has an initial outlay of INR 10,900 Cr for a period of two years to support EV adoption. The scheme aims to support 24.79 Lakh electric two-wheelers (E2Ws), along with other vehicle categories. The Centre’s previous subsidy scheme FAME-II aimed to support 10 Lakh two-wheeler EVs.

Overall, total EV registrations in the country, across vehicle categories, stood at 1.66 Lakh units last month, growing from 1.65 Lakh units in August. With the festive season ahead, EV manufacturers will be hoping for a rise in sales in the coming months.

The post Two-Wheeler EV Sales Slowdown In Sept; Ola Electric’s Market Share Drops, Bajaj Overtakes TVS appeared first on Inc42 Media.

For decades, the British company ARM dominated the intellectual property (IP) market in the semiconductor industry. However, the arrival of RISC-V, the open standard instruction set architecture (ISA), a few years ago, challenged ARM’s monopoly in the market, giving a much-needed shift to the global semiconductor ecosystem.

Many leading fabless design companies, such as Qualcomm and NVIDIA, and even Samsung and Google, which were earlier dependent only on SoftBank-owned ARM’s IP offerings, also started developing their own RISC-V processors for varied applications.

Back home, IIT Madras brought in a major revolution with the country’s first home-grown microprocessor, SHAKTI, which was open-source and built on top of RISC-V. 

Started around 2012, the SHAKTI programme was led by current IIT Madras director, professor Veezhinathan Kamakoti, who was soon joined by G.S. Madhusudan, Neel Gala, Arjun Menon, and others. 

After collaborating for several years, Madhusudan, Gala, and Menon decided to apply their insights from the SHAKTI programme to develop scalable, commercial-grade IPs. Besides, what fuelled their motivation was a growing semiconductor IP market, expected to breach the $15 Bn mark by 2032.   

Realising that more semiconductor companies would need vertically integrated customisable IP cores in the not-so-distant future, given the growing market of consumer electronic devices, automotive, AI, and various computing devices, they founded InCore Semiconductors in 2018.

Today, the startup is focussed on developing semiconductor processor IPs based on RISC-V open-source architecture. Its suite of offerings can be integrated into chips for a variety of embedded applications, including wearables, smart IoT devices, PoS terminals, and more. Notably, Gautam Doshi, a seasoned industry expert, joined the initiative later.

InCore’s Inception

InCore is not a fabless chip maker, it is an IP company, which caters to system-on-chips (SoC) companies and helps them design chips as per their varied customer requirements.

For the uninitiated, in semiconductor parlance, IPs are a set of specifications, source codes, and other such information that are required to manufacture a given semiconductor. 

Back to the story, after working on building the SHAKTI processor, the founders realised that scaling the programme had its challenges as there were requirements for more independent research and efforts to give it a shape that could work as a plug-and-play IP for SoC companies. 

“We realised open source, beyond a point, at least in hardware, is not scalable. It has a lot of nuances and ecosystem constraints that a commercial entity, like InCore, would want to do,” cofounder and CTO, Gala, said.

However, only four years after incorporating the startup, in 2022, InCore became confident that RISC-V was there to stay as some of the top semiconductor companies started betting on the technology and the community behind it was growing.

After almost five years of staying bootstrapped, InCore bagged $3 Mn in its seed funding round from Peak XV in 2023 to make its dream a bigger reality.

Today, InCore has its own proprietary offerings, which include its Azurite and Calcite cores.

Speaking on how the startup has differentiated itself from the academic research of SHAKTI, Gala said, “We are more focussed on the productisation, getting the last mile engineering and optimisations done so that the actual processors are shippable. They address real workload, the need of the hour problems… We don’t specifically push back to SHAKTI or adopt SHAKTI beyond a particular point, rather SHAKTI has been the ground for all things that InCore is today.”

He added that despite the dependency on SHAKTI, the overlap is minimal (5-10%). The company claims to have rewritten a majority of the codes and added new processors to the offerings.   

What Comprises InCore’s Core?

Gala noted that when it comes to IPs, InCore has to be fab agnostic so that its SoC customers can choose any fab for the final chip manufacturing.

This also necessitated InCore to spend significant time characterising its IPs for specific target segments.

“So, we don’t build one processor at a time. What we build is a code generator or a processor generator that is configurable and customisable. From a single line of code or from the generator, you can give in a specification and say that you want the tiniest code possible, or you want a high-performance code possible, or you want a balance of them, and the generator would spit out the required IP,” Gala explained.

InCore’s Azurite is a tiny core, equivalent to that of ARM’s Cortex M0 and Cortex M4 processors. It targets applications like energy meters, smart metering systems, and smart card applications to operate at 50-250 megahertz of computing operations.

Its Calcite is a Linux capable core. Its target segments are computes that require up to 1-1.4 gigahertz of operations, which include point-of-sale terminals, wearables, and networking systems.

Currently, InCore is piloting its IP offering with a few companies in India and globally. The startup is still in the pre-revenue stage and aims to start generating revenue by the end of 2024 itself.

Meanwhile, the founders have set their eyes on keeping their product line minimal. However, this does not mean compromising on the ability to address multiple segments or providing more solutions beyond cores. 

Over the last few months, InCore has also started working on other design components, such as network on chips, interconnects, and fabrics, which is expected to boost its revenue stream in the long run.

The Way Ahead For InCore

Gala highlighted that the gestation period for semiconductor players is too long and for IP providers it usually takes six months to a year for any deal to materialise. This is because every process goes through a rigorous evaluation process, legal procedures, and testing.

Meanwhile, Indian semiconductor startups are faced with an uphill task of building trust in the global market. This particular issue stood out as a sore thumb when Gala and other founders were trying to raise funds. 

Later, the founders understood that the semiconductor industry is beyond the comprehension of many, therefore the flow of patient capital in this ecosystem is skewed. 

Despite the hurdles, the startup aims to forge ahead and is currently working on building its next core offering – Dolomite, which will be suitable for mobile devices, storage, and other high-performance embedded devices.

By mid 2025, this offering would be ready to be deployed. With this, InCore claims to be able to cover all the core offerings provided by ARM.

The startup claims to have already built a pipeline of 10-12 customers. Currently, InCore is more focussed on capturing players in the Bay area.

Also, the startup is not keen on raising funds immediately. However, it would raise another round only sometime next year to support its next level of growth after achieving a few milestones such as getting the proof of its technology on silicon chips and rolling out a few more product offerings.

With major plans on the anvil, it now remains to be seen how InCore will spearhead the country’s dream of becoming a semiconductor hub, all while working in the not-so-decorated segment of building IPs, especially when there is much attention being given to building semicon fabs and bolstering design companies in India’s semiconductor market projected to cross $150 Bn by 2030.

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]

The post How This Indian Startup Is Taking On Global Semiconductor Giants With Scalable Processor IPs appeared first on Inc42 Media.

KrazyBee, the non-banking financial company (NBFC) arm of lendingtech startup KreditBee, saw its net profit more than triple to INR 200.3 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 65.1 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

On the back of a sharp rise in its interest income, KrazyBee (KB NBFC) also saw a whopping 95% jump in its operating revenue to INR 1,399.2 Cr during the year under review from INR 717 Cr in FY23.

Launched in 2018 by Madhusudan Ekambaram, Karthikeyan Krishnaswamy, and Vivek Veda, KreditBee serves credit and other personal finance requirements. As its subsidiary, KB NBFC serves as one of the lending partners of KreditBee.

KB NBFC earns a majority of its revenue from interest income, followed by fee and commission income. The NBFC earned INR 1,225.8 Cr as interest income, which surged over 156% year-on-year (YoY) in FY24.

However, its fee and commission income declined 1.1% YoY to INR 168.8 Cr in the reported fiscal due to a fall in service fees.

KB NBFC’s total revenue stood at INR 1,400.2 Cr in FY24 as against INR 717.7 Cr in the previous year. 

KB NBFC said in its financials filing that it raised funds of around INR 3,450 Cr in FY24 via different routes, including secured non-convertible debentures and term loans/ working capital loans, among others.

It is pertinent to note that KB NBFC secured INR 268 Cr in debt funding from Yubi, Dzerv, Neo Group, OfBusiness, Oxyzo, and others between April and June this year. Inc42 reported that the fresh funds were likely to be used for working capital needs and to expand the business. 

In fact, continuing the strong growth, the NBFC;s operating revenue almost doubled YoY to INR 509.5 Cr in the quarter ended June 2024. 

Where Did It Spend?

KB NBFC’s total expenses surged 80% to INR 1,131.9 Cr in FY24 from INR 630.2 Cr in the previous year.

Impairment On Financial Instruments: The company’s expenses under this head jumped to INR 431.9 Cr during the year under review from INR 248.5 Cr in FY23.

It included financial instruments measured at amortised cost loans and at fair value financial guarantee contracts.

Employee Cost: KB NBFC spent INR 188.3 Cr towards employee benefit expenses during FY24, which grew a whopping 400% from INR 37.4 Cr the year before.

In that, INR 128.6 Cr was spent on salaries and wages, while INR 52 Cr was given as share based payments to employees.

Deficiency Recovery Expense: The lending firm spent INR 26.7 Cr under this bucket in FY24, which was nil last year.

KB NBFC is a regulated entity under the purview of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In early 2023, the central bank slapped a penalty of INR 42.48 Lakh on the fintech startup for allegedly harassing borrowers for debt collection. 

The post KreditBee’s NBFC Arm Posts INR 200 Cr Profit In FY24, Operating Revenue Almost Doubles appeared first on Inc42 Media.

India’s EV landscape is undergoing a paradigm shift as the nation moves beyond electric two- and three-wheelers to embrace heavy-duty electric vehicles. 

For context, electric buses are slowly becoming more common on Indian roads. In addition, thanks to the country’s growing EV infrastructure and the government’s policy initiatives, electric truck manufacturers are also entering the picture.

Besides, heavy-duty electric commercial vehicles for sectors like construction and agriculture are soon to become a common spectacle in the Indian EV space estimated to breach the $110.74 Bn mark by 2029.

In his recent interview with Inc42, Kunal Khattar of AdvantEdge, one of the top EV investors in India, said that it is the B2B and commercial use cases, more than personal mobility, that will prompt the adoption of EVs in the country.

At this crucial stage, Delhi NCR-based AutoNxt Automation wants to spearhead the country’s EV revolution with its electric tractors that can be used for agricultural purposes, like farm tilling and carrying agricultural products, as well as for industrial use.

AutoNxt, with its electric tractors, not only aims to aid the country in getting rid of pollution-causing, diesel-guzzling tractors but also help farmers lower their farming costs. 

Currently, in its portfolio of offerings, the startup only has one electric tractor, with more innovative tractors on the anvil.

With its range of electric tractors, AutoNxt has set its eyes on capturing the Indian tractor market. Notably, as per the Tractor and Mechanization Association (TMA), the apex body representing tractor and agricultural equipment manufacturers in India, data total sales of tractors, including exports, stood at over 6 Lakh units in the first eight months of 2024. 

While demand in this market fluctuates each year due to seasonal factors, it remains largely robust, driven by exports and non-agricultural sectors. All in all, AutoNxt’s larger aim is to lock horns with legacy players, including Mahindra & Mahindra, John Deere India, and Swaraj Tractor.

Now, before diving into the startup’s plan of action, let’s take a look at its origin story.

AutoNxt’s Inception Story 

AutoNxt was founded in 2016 by Kaustubh Dhonde, who was then a fresh electronic engineering graduate from Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune. 

As an engineer with a passion for robotics and autonomous technology, Dhonde found himself at a career crossroads after graduation. Rather than pursuing a conventional path, he chose entrepreneurship.

Coming from a farmers’ family, Dhonde knew that operating old tractors was a big challenge for farmers due to costs and difficulty in finding labourers to operate them. This made him focus on electric tractors, paving the way for the birth of AutoNxt.

While AutoNxt was founded particularly to solve the issues that farmers face with diesel tractors, the initial years of the startup were difficult as the EV wave had yet to gain significant traction in the country.

At the time, the venture was unique, so raising external funding was difficult for the founder. In a bid to survive, AutoNxt began producing GPS tracking devices and securing MSMEs as customers.

In 2021, AutoNxt was back to its original goals and started working on building electric tractors. The startup picked up momentum when Pankaj Goyal joined AutoNxt as the cofounder and chief operating officer, bringing with him decades of experience from his stints at companies like Schneider Electric, Maruti Suzuki, and others.

“Pankaj was the missing piece in the puzzle that I needed to get the concept and R&D to a product level. We had already developed an R&D prototype, but that was not enough for us to make it commercially viable,” founder and CEO Dhonde said. 

The duo then worked on building a 45 HP tractor, which is a popular choice in India. Finally, after two years, in August 2024, the startup launched its tractor, securing all certifications, including from iCAT.

Currently, AutoNxt’s electric tractors are deployed at 10 sites, per the founders. They added that while their 45 HP tractor is suitable for both agricultural and non-agricultural use cases, the startup is witnessing more traction from enterprise customers who want to use its tractors for various commercial purposes.

In the current fiscal, FY25, AutoNxt is aiming to clock INR 15 to INR 20 Cr in revenue by selling around 150 electric tractors.

Recently, the startup raised about $3 Mn (around INR 24 Cr) in a funding round led by Saama Capital. Google’s Amit Singhal and KKR Capstone’s Suveer Sinha also participated in the round. The startup has raised INR 30 Cr since its inception.

At The Core Of AutoNxt’s EV Tractor

According to its founders, the startup has mastered the entire value chain for building and manufacturing its electric tractors. Although AutoNxt has designed all the parts of its tractor, it does not have in-house manufacturing and leverages a network of Indian manufacturers for tractor components. AutoNxt holds the copyright for its design and has filed patent applications for its technology.

Currently, the startup sells only one electric tractor, X45H2, which comes with a 32 KW motor and produces 45 horsepower. Priced at INR 16.5 Lakh, the tractor is capable of pulling 10-12 tonnes of weight. 

It takes five to six hours to get fully charged and offers a work time of eight hours. With a three-phase power supply charger, X45H2 can be fully charged in about three hours. The tractor is also capable of conducting crop health analysis.

On the contrary, the tractor costs more than a diesel one. However, the machine is quite economical in the long run. In fact, the tractor can do three-four acres of farm work on one charge, reducing diesel costs.

What’s Next For AutoNxt?

Currently, AutoNxt is working on two additional variants of its electric tractor — one with a larger power capacity of 60-65 HP and another smaller model with 20-25 HP. These new vehicles are expected to launch within the next six months. It is also working on building an autonomous electric tractor.  

In sync with its orderbook and growing traction, AutoNxt aims to double or triple its production capacity from the current 75 tractors per month at its phase zero facility.

“We believe the way the traction for our vehicle is growing, we will need to expand to 500 tractors a month capacity in the next three to four years,” Goyal said.

The startup is also planning to build a new production facility in the Delhi NCR region. Besides, AutoNxt is also exploring opportunities in the export market with a sharp eye on some Asian, African, East European, and South American countries. 

To support these ambitious growth and expansion plans, AutoNxt is planning another fundraising round.

For now, as India charges forward with its EV goals to become a clean energy superpower, AutoNxt’s journey will be one to watch closely.

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]

The post With Hi-Tech Tractors In Shed, Can This Startup Bring The Next Big EV Revolution In India appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Omnichannel jewellery brand BlueStone managed to narrow its loss by almost 15% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 142.2 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), while its operating revenue surpassed the INR 1,000 Cr mark.

The startup had posted a net loss of INR 167.2 Cr in FY23 on an operating revenue of INR 770.7 Cr. 

BlueStone’s operating revenue surged over 64% YoY to INR 1,265.8 Cr in FY24.

Founded in 2011 by Gaurav Singh Kushwaha and Vidya Nataraj, BlueStone earns revenue by selling jewellery online and through its retail stores. It claims to offer over 8,000 designs across a range of jewellery – from rings and pendants to earrings and more.

The startup owns some of its retail stores and operates the rest via a franchise model. It claims to have over 200 retail stores spread across the country.  

It is pertinent to note that in FY22, BlueStone incurred a one-time non-operating expense of INR 1,209 Cr, as a result of which its net loss shot up to INR 1,268.4 Cr in that year. Excluding this one-time expense in FY22, the startup’s net loss had increased 183% YoY in FY23.

BlueStone now seems to have started focusing on improving its top line as well as bottom line ahead of its IPO.

“Company has been successful in growing revenue in existing stores during the year which has resulted in improved margins. The company thus expects further improvement in its cash flow from operations through increase in revenue from its existing as well as new customers,” it said in its filing with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

Including interest income, BlueStone recorded a total revenue of INR 1,303.5 Cr in FY24 as against INR 787.9 Cr in FY23.

Zooming Into Expenses

With growing sales, BlueStone’s expenses also increased over 51% to INR 1,445.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 955.1 Cr posted in the year before. 

Cost of Materials Consumed: This accounted for 85% of the total spending of the jewellery brand during the year under review. 

BlueStone spent INR 1,234.7 Cr on procurement of raw materials in FY24, an increase of 72% from INR 717.6 Cr in the previous year.

Employee Cost: The startup’s spending towards employee benefit expenses jumped 51.7% to INR 138.4 Cr in the reported year from INR 91.2 Cr in FY23.

In that, BlueStone spent INR 95.6 Cr on salaries and wages in FY24, which grew about 56% YoY. This indicates that the startup likely increased its headcount during the year under review.

Advertisement & Marketing Cost: BlueStone’s spending in this bucket zoomed to INR 124.2 Cr in FY24 from INR 84.1 Cr in the previous year.

BlueStone raised INR 900 Cr from Peak XV Partners, Prosus, Steadview Capital, and others in its pre-IPO round in August, which took its valuation to $970 Mn. 

In June, it also raised INR 100 Cr in debt funding from Neo Markets. 

Overall, BlueStone has raised a total funding of over $200 Mn till date. It counts the likes of Accel, Kalaari Capital, Ratan Tata, Deepinder Goyal, and Nikhil Kamath among its backers.

BlueStone competes with the likes of CaratLane, GIVA, Melorra, and other legacy jewellery brands.

While reports about the startup’s IPO plans have been doing rounds for some time, it is yet to announce the exact timeline for its IPO.

The post BlueStone FY24: Revenue Surpasses INR 1,000 Cr Mark, Loss Narrows 15% To INR 142.2 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Edtech unicorn Physics Wallah (PW) has raised $210 Mn (about INR 1,756.7 Cr) in its Series B funding round, led by Hornbill Capital, at a post-money valuation of $2.8 Bn.

The round also saw participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners and its existing investors, GSV and WestBridge.

PW cofounder Prateek Maheshwari told Inc42 that the startup will largely use the funds for its strategic plans, which include geographical expansion and acquisitions.

“Currently, we are sitting on INR 1,200 Cr plus treasury…. For our internal growth initiatives – be it Vidyapeeth expansion, new category launches, new vertical business, and innovation which we are doing – we are sufficiently capitalised. But now we are a total group size of 15,000 employees (and) we thought of raising one round so that the treasury gives us more comfort. It’s a comfort capital which we have raised,” said Maheshwari.

Overall, the edtech player, which seems to be following the path of its rivals BYJU’S and Unacademy in terms of aggressive fundraise, product category expansion, and acquisition, aims to use the fresh funds to pursue inorganic expansion, enter the K-12 formal education segment, enhance its content and publication offerings, and explore mergers with community-driven education platforms across categories going forward. 

Maheshwari said that the startup hasn’t shortlisted any asset for acquisition yet but has a thesis in place, which includes companies in content-heavy categories, such as the publication industry.

Besides, it is also evaluating companies that can help PW with geographical expansion, particularly in the southern part of India.

“In general, we do not have a huge strength in the southern part. Xylem has done a phenomenal job in Kerala and they are planning to expand it to Tamil Nadu also. But Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bengaluru are the markets where we are not as strong (in terms of) online as well as offline presence…” Maheshwari said.

It is worth noting that in June last year, PW acquired a 50% stake in Kerala-based Xylem in an INR 500 Cr (around $61.04 Mn) deal.

Founded in 2020 by Alakh Pandey and Maheshwari, PW entered the unicorn club in 2022 by raising $100 Mn in its maiden funding round from Westbridge and GSV Ventures at a valuation of $1.1 Bn. Since then, it has expanded its offerings by entering the offline space and acquiring multiple companies.

In 2023 alone, PW made three other acquisitions – iNeuron, which offers skill development courses in AI and ML; test prep platform Utkarsh Classes: and UAE-based K-12 online learning platform Knowledge Planet.

PW currently operates tech-enabled offline and hybrid centres across 105 cities in the country. Its offerings span various educational segments, including two Gurukulam Schools, test preparation in 43 categories, a skilling vertical, and higher education and study abroad verticals. It also claims to offer free education to over 4.6 Cr students through its 112 YouTube channels in five vernacular languages. 

Speaking on the investment, Manoj Thakur, founder of Hornbill Capital, said, “Physics Wallah is a rare combination of vision, execution, and impact with a thriving 3C model – content, community, and commerce. We are excited to see PW’s use of AI not only to help improve students’ outcomes but also their emotional well-being.”

It is pertinent to mention that PW’s indigenously built Alakh AI was launched in December last year. Its AI educational suite’s offerings include AI Guru, Sahayak, and NCERT Pitara among others. Already 40 Lakh students are using its AI Guru product, as per the company.

PW is also entering into a strategic partnership with Microsoft, Maheshwari said but didn’t provide any further details.

PW will continue to invest more money and time on AI, he said.

A Quick View Of PW Financials

It is pertinent to note that PW was net profitable in FY23 even as its top edtech competitors, like Unacademy and Vedantu have been struggling on that front. However, its net profit narrowed over 90% year-on-year (YoY) in FY23 to INR 8.9 Cr. Meanwhile, PW’s operating revenue increased 234% YoY to INR 779.3 Cr that year.

Maheshwari told Inc42 that the startup clocked a revenue of INR 1,975 Cr in FY24, adding it expects the revenue to jump over 50% in the current fiscal year (FY25).

However, PW slipped into loss at a group level in FY24 and aims to turn PAT positive in FY25. Maheshwari said that the company was profitable in Q1 of the current fiscal and will post the highest EBITDA numbers in the history of the company in FY25.

“As a strategy, we are focusing on growth and student experience, we are not much worried about profitability. We believe in sustainable growth, (and) when the competition is weak, we should go out and capture the maximum market to maintain the student experience… Breakeven is a good thing for us, (though) we will generate good EBITDA this year,” Maheshwari said.

Meanwhile, differentiating PW from BYJU’S, Maheshwari said that PW’s cash allocations have been around 30-40X lower than the embattled company and all the acquisitions have helped the company grow.

“There has to be some fundamental synergies with the businesses when you choose inorganic growth, and a good amount of effort goes into integration. If you look at all the large businesses within the group, they have been built in-house. Be it Vidyapeeth, which has turned profitable this year, be it Pathshala… we are number one in all these categories not only in terms of students but also revenue,” Maheshwari concluded.

The post Physics Wallah Raises $210 Mn With An Eye On Acquisitions, Valuation Doubles To $2.8 Bn appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Fintech unicorn Groww’s non-banking financial company (NBFC) Groww Creditserv Technologies’s total on-balance sheet loan book stood at INR 965.44 Cr as on June 30, 2024, growing 32% from INR 731.1 Cr as of March 31 this year.

As per rating agency ICRA, personal loans accounted for 98% of the total loan book, while consumer durable loans accounted for the rest of the amount.

Incorporated in January 2021, Groww Creditserv received an NBFC licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in late 2022. It provides personal and consumer durable loans to Groww Invest Tech Private Limited’s existing customers.

The NBFC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Groww’s India entity, Billionbrains Garage Ventures Private Limited.

While it was initially held directly by the four cofounders of Groww – Lalit Keshre, Harsh Jain, Ishan Bansal, and Neeraj Singh, Billionbrains Garage Ventures acquired a stake in Groww Creditserv in multiple tranches during April 2023 to March 2024.

The ICRA report said that Groww Creditserv received a total of INR 378 Cr in total capital infusion till March 31, 2024. This entity’s net worth was INR 351 Cr around the same time.

The report said that Groww Creditserv posted a loss of INR 24.1 Cr in FY24 as against a loss of INR 2.8 Cr in FY23.

Founded in 2017, Groww is a wealthtech startup that enables users to invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and IPOs, among other fintech services. It entered the unicorn club in 2021 by bagging $83 Mn in its Series D funding round led by Tiger Global. 

Billionbrains Garage Private Limited, the parent entity of Groww, posted a net profit of INR 448.7 Cr in FY23 as against a net loss of INR 239 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Its operating revenue more than tripled year-on-year to INR 1,277.8 Cr in FY23.

The post Groww Creditserv’s Loan Book Grows 31% QoQ To INR 965.44 Cr At The End Of June Quarter appeared first on Inc42 Media.

With sustainability becoming one of the top priorities for countries and businesses alike, the narrative around increasing the usage of electric vehicles (EVs) has taken centre stage in the past few years. Though the electrification of vehicles started a bit late in India compared to some European countries, the US, China, and Japan, the country’s EV adoption has grown exponentially on the back of more startups joining the segment and government policies.

Many Indian EV startups such as Ather Energy, Altigreen, BluSmart, and Exponent Energy have now come up with sustainable solutions for mobility. The Indian EV market houses various small as well as large EV startups and is estimated to reach $110.74 Bn by 2029.

Indian EV startups offer services such as sustainable mobility, energy infrastructure, commercial mobility and battery management system, among others, to the general masses and enterprises. Besides, they are also helping reduce carbon emissions and offering a cheaper alternative to fossil fuels.

To push the adoption of EVs in the country, the Centre introduced the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME-India) in 2013. Its first phase, FAME-I, commenced in 2015. The next phase, FAME-II, came into effect in April 2019 with an outlay of INR 10,000 Cr. It concluded in March 2024.

After the FAME-II fiasco in 2023 and a tug-of-war between several EV OEMs and the government over the violation of localisation norms, there were doubts and debates around the Centre announcing a new EV scheme.

However, with FAME-II ending, the Centre launched the Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS) with an allocation of INR 500 Cr as a stop-gap measure. In September 2024, the union cabinet approved the ‘PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) Scheme’ with an outlay of INR 10,900 Cr for a period of two years.

Let’s take a look at some of the Indian startups that are helping keep the earth healthy and green through their technology and products. The list below is not meant to be a ranking of any kind. The Indian EV brands have been listed in alphabetical order.

Startups In The EV Segment 

1. 3EV Industries

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Peter Hartmut Voelkner, Suman K. Mishra
• Funding Raised To Date: $2 Mn
• Investors: Credence Family Office
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

3EV Industries was founded in association between RUGGED Solar Products Pvt Ltd and ReBatt Limited in 2019. It offers last-mile hyper-local connectivity to customers across India. 

In November 2021, 3EV Industries raised $2 Mn in its seed funding round from several family offices including Credence Family Office. The startup originally aligns with the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ ambitions.

It manufactures vehicles across cargo and passenger segments, along with kits to convert conventional vehicles to electric. It aims to use renewable energy and off-grid power systems to optimise last-mile logistics. 

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2. Altigreen Propulsion Labs

• Founded In: 2013
• Founders: Amitabh Saran, Shalendra Gupta 
• Funding Raised To Date: $40 Mn 
• Investors: Reliance New Energy Limited, Xponentia Capital, Accurant International and Momentum Venture Capital
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Altigreen offers last-mile transportation through two-wheeler, three-wheeler and four-wheeler EVs for commercial use.

In February 2022, Altigreen raised INR 300 Cr ($40 Mn) in a Series A funding round led by Sixth Sense Ventures. The round saw participation from Reliance New Energy Limited (RNEL), Xponentia Capital, Accurant International and Momentum Venture Capital.

The startup has a presence in 60 countries, along with 26 global patents. It had a turnover of INR 1.04  Cr in FY21 against INR 61.62 lakh in FY20.

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3. AMO Mobility

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Sushant Kumar
• Funding Raised To Date: Bootstrapped
• Investors: NA
• Headquarters: Noida

AMO Mobility is an MSME-registered and ICAT-certified electric mobility startup. It is also certified by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). 

The original equipment manufacturer follows a business model for both B2C and B2B customers. Besides selling its electric two-wheelers through dealerships, AMO also has partnerships with OEMs, sub-dealerships, channel partners, and B2C partners to distribute its products. 

Some of its most noteworthy B2B partnerships include JustDial, Indiamart, the ecommerce platform of Paytm, and BikeDekho.

Recently, AMO Mobility signed a pact with EV-as-a -service platform, Trigo Electric, to provide its advanced electric mobility solutions to the company.

AMO Mobility has a range of escooter models, including Jaunty, Feisty, and Inspirer. Its customer base comprises corporates, ecommerce players, and CSR segments.

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4. Ather Energy

• Founded In: 2013
• Founders: Tarun Mehta, Swapnil Jain
• Funding Raised To Date: $500 Mn+
• Investors: Hero Motocorp, Department of Science and Technology, IIT Madras, Binny Bansal, Sachin Bansal, Tiger Global, NIIF Limited
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Ather Energy is one of the leading Indian two-wheeler EV manufacturers. It also manufactures its own battery packs and operates its own charging network.

After building its market on its 450 series of escooters, which comprises Ather 450S, Ather 450X, and Ather 450 Apex, the startup launched a family escooter series Rizta and also forayed into the smart helmet category.

In May, Ather secured $128 Mn in its Series E funding round from sovereign fund NIIF Limited and existing investor Hero MotoCorp. With this round, it also closed its Series E round. In September 2023, it raised INR 900 Cr from existing shareholders Hero MotoCorp and GIC through a rights issue.

In August 2024, it also joined the unicorn club by raising $71 Mn from existing investor National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) at a post-money valuation of  $1.3 Bn.

Ather has also filed its DRHP for an INR 3,100 Cr+ IPO in September 2024.

Its operating revenue declined 1.5% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 1,753.8 Cr in FY24, while net loss widened over 22% to INR 1,059.7 Cr.

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5. Baaz Bikes

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Karan Singla, Abhijeet Saxena, Shubham Srivastava 
• Funding Raised To Date: $10.3 Mn
• Investors: BIG Capital, Kalaari Capital, AdvantEdge, 9Unicorns, Sumant Sinha
• Headquarters: New Delhi

Baaz Bikes, a subsidiary of ElecTorq Technologies, offers micro-mobility solutions to gig workers. It helps gig workers earn money by using its electric scooters for deliveries for companies such as Zomato, Amazon and Grofers.

Baaz Bikes raised $2 Mn in Pre-Series A funding round from Kalaari Capital along with the participation of AdvantEdge, 9Unicorns and Renew Power’s Sumant Sinha. In November 2023, the EV startup raised $8 Mn in its Series A funding round.

Baaz Bikes has built a full stack EV ecosystem that provides the delivery executives of companies, including Zomato, Zepto, and Amazon, access to its low-speed ebikes (Baaz Bikes) as well as battery swapping stations (Baaz Swap) under a subscription model.

With more than 500 vehicles on the road, the startup claims to earn around INR 5,000 per month from each delivery executive.

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6. Battery Smart

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Pulkit Khurana and Siddharth Sikka
• Funding Raised To Date: $65 Mn
• Investors: Blume Ventures, Orios Ventures, Green Frontier Capital, TradeCred, Baring Private Equity India, Srinivas Anumolu, K Ganesh, Niraj Singh, Amit Bhasin  
• Headquarters: New Delhi

Battery Smart allows customers to swap their EV batteries at its stations, called Swap Stations. It currently offers its services to e-rickshaw owners. 

Battery Smart claims to operate more than 850 Swap Stations across Delhi-NCR and says it has completed more than 220 lakh battery swaps. Currently, it has 35,000 active vehicles on its platform and makes 80,000 swaps on a daily basis as of November 2023.

In November 2021, Battery Smart raised $7 Mn in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Blume Ventures and Orios Ventures. The round saw participation from investors including Green Frontier Capital, TradeCred, Baring Private Equity India, and angel investors such as Bluestone’s Srinivas Anumolu, and GrowthStory.in’s K Ganesh, Spinny’s Niraj Singh and GoMechanic’s Amit Bhasin.

Prior to this, Battery Smart raised an undisclosed amount of investment in a seed funding round from Orios Venture Partners in February 2021. The startup has further raised $25 Mn in its Series A round in June 2022 led by Tiger Global, Blume Ventures and Orios Ventures and two debt rounds from Stride Ventures and BlackSoil.

In its pre-series B funding round in July of 2023, Battery Smart raised $33 Mn led by investors Tiger Global and Blume Ventures, with participation from the Ecosystem Integrity Fund and British International Investment.

Battery Smart claims to have live swap stations across 27 cities and it works with 35,500 vehicles.

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7. BGauss

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Hemant Kabra
• Funding Raised To Date: $7 Mn
• Investors: Darshan Patel
• Headquarters:  Mumbai

BGauss, which is promoted by RR Global, offers sustainable mobility solutions. The startup manufactures two EVs – BGauss B8 and BGauss A2 – which are sold on its website as well as in offline stores. It is currently expanding its product portfolio by launching two new EV scooters in 2022. 

According to an Inc42 report, BGauss’ new EV scooter D15 will be launched in May 2022, while the other scooter will be launched later this year. The startup claims that these scooters will be 100% ‘Made in India’ at its production facility located in Chakan near Pune.

Recently, the EV startup got $7 Mn in funding from Vini Cosmetics’ Darshan Patel to expand retail and manufacturing capacity in India, perform R&D and develop in-house products across various EV components. It claims to have 100 dealer networks across India and is planning to enter Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities by the end of 2022. It is further looking to scale up operations and focus on the export market.

As per its website, it has a presence in more than 85 countries. It also has 13 manufacturing facilities and over 25K retail stores. ______________________________________________________________________________________________

8. BLive

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Samarth Kholkar, Sandeep Mukherjee
• Funding Raised To Date: Approximately $3 Mn
• Investors: LetsVenture, Mumbai Angels, Ankit Agrawal
• Headquarters: Goa

BLive is a multi-brand EV store that offers a wide range of EV products and services on its digital platform as well as in retail stores. It’s a one-stop shop for EV products and solutions.

BLive’s EV Store features a lineup of electric two-wheelers from brands like TVS, Ola, and Ather. In August 2023, the startup collaborated with electric bike manufacturer Revolt Motors to support its sales, service and spares pan India.

BLive also offers customised EV financing solutions.

Recently, the startup expanded its collaboration with Zomato to deploy escooters for last-mile deliveries in more southern cities, including Bengaluru. As part of the partnership, the startup is deploying TVS iQube scooters for Zomato’s last-mile deliveries.

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9. BluSmart 

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Anmol Singh Jaggi, Punit K Goyal
• Funding Raised To Date: $110 Mn+
• Investors: Stride Ventures, Alteria Capital, BlackSoil, UCIC, BP Ventures, Green Frontier Capital, Mayfield India Fund, 9Unicorns, Suvan Partners,  Mumbai Angels, Inflection Point Ventures, Venture Catalysts
• Headquarters: Gurugram

BluSmart offers electric ride-hailing mobility services through its mobile-based app. It primarily provides sustainable mobility solutions to urban customers.

In May 2022, BluSmart secured $25 Mn through equity and debt financing in its Series A funding round. Investors who participated in the round include BP Ventures, Green Frontier Capital, Stride Ventures, Alteria Capital, BlackSoil and UCIC. It raised over $66 Mn in two rounds in 2023. 

BluSmart claims to have completed over 10 Mn rides so far. It also owned and operated over 4,000 EV chargers, across its 34 EV charging superhubs as of 2023 end. The startup is looking to raise around INR 200 Cr in a pre-Series B funding round.

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10. BOLT

• Founded: 2017
• Founders: Jyotiranjan Harichandan and Mohit Yadav
• Funding Raised To Date: $4 Mn 
• Investors: ITI Growth Opportunities Fund, SUN Mobility, Union Square Ventures, Prime Venture Partners
• Headquarters: Bengaluru 

BOLT, previously known as REVOS, is an AI-based IoT platform that helps people operate EVs. It essentially tracks and monitors motor controllers as well as batteries on the platform. 

In September 2021, BOLT raised $4 Mn in its Series A round led by Union Square Ventures (USV) and Prime Venture Partners. It claims to have sold about 1,000 devices, including EVs and chargers in 30 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), across India, China, Nepal, Egypt and Vietnam to date. The startup claims it has installed 10,000 EV charging stations in India in the past six months. 

BOLT is reportedly aiming to deploy 100K charging stations in the coming six months to meet the demand in cities like Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Nagpur, Nashik, Chandigarh, Surat, and Bhubaneswar, among others.

Recently, BOLT also partnered with the Delhi Capitals cricket team for the IPL.

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11. Bounce

• Founded In: 2014
• Founders: Anil G, Varun Agni, Vivekananda Halleker
• Funding Raised To Date: $214 Mn
• Investors: Peak XV, Accel Partners, B Capital Group, Chiratae Ventures

Initially, Bounce started its operations as a bike/scooter rental platform. In 2022, it pivoted to become an escooter manufacturer. 

Currently, Bounce manufactures and sells Bounce Inifinity escooters. It also gives its escooters on rent.

The EV maker currently has three escooter variants – E.1, E.1 LE, and E.1+ – with their prices ranging from INR 1.09 Lakh to INR 1.12 Lakh.

Bounce last raised $105 Mn in 2020 from Accel Partners and B Capital Group. The company is trying to raise more funding.

In FY23, its net loss narrowed 19% YoY to INR 197 Cr and operating revenue jumped 510% to INR 90.9 Cr.

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12. Cell Propulsion

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Nakul Kukar, Paras Kaushal, Supratim Naskar
• Funding Raised To Date: $4 Mn
• Investors: growX ventures, Micelio, Endiya Partners, CIIE.CO, Sangam Ventures
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Cell Propulsion offers sustainable mobility solutions and charging infrastructure. The startup develops high-voltage powertrains technology for commercial vehicle applications. Besides this, it manufactures electric commercial vehicles – Oryx Electric and Beluga Electric. While Oryx Electric is available for sale, Beluga Electric has not been officially launched yet by the startup. 

As per its website, GrowX Ventures, Endiya, Micelio and CIIE.CO and Sangam Ventures are among its investors. It has covered over 200K emission-free distance and onboarded five fleets to date. It is currently managing over 10 fast-charging stations.

In 2021, it reportedly secured $2 Mn of funding from a cohort of private equity investors including Endiya Partners, GrowX Ventures, Huddle Accelerator and Micelio. Prior to this, it raised $1 Mn in a pre-Series A funding round in September 2020. 

In 2019, it was also a part of Huddle and growX Ventures’ EV accelerator program.

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13. CHARGE+ZONE

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Kartikey Hariyani and Pavan Bakeri
• Funding Raised To Date: $17 Mn
• Investors: Venture Catalysts, Mumbai Angels, Keiretsu Forum, Ramakrishnan Family Office
• Headquarters: Gujarat

CHARGE+ZONE offers an OEM charging network through its app-based charging stations. Its app provides an array of services to EV drivers, such as finding charging points, and booking them in advance. 

In December 2021, CHARGE+ZONE raised $10 Mn in a bridge funding round led by Venture Catalysts. Prior to this, it raised $4 Mn in the same round. CHARGE+ZONE currently aims to raise another $50 Mn in a Series A funding round in 2022. 

In November 2021, CHARGE+ZONE raised $3 Mn in a Pre-Series funding A round led by Venture Catalysts. The round saw participation from Mumbai Angels, Keiretsu Forum and Ramakrishnan Family Office. Earlier in May 2021, it raised an undisclosed amount from Mumbai Angels. 

CHARGE+ZONE is reported to have started the distribution of AC-Type2 EV charging networks and intercity fast DC charging networks for 1,500 new points over the next 150 days.

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14. Chargeup

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Varun Goenka and Ankur Madan
• Funding Raised To Date: $2.5 Mn
• Investors:  Capital A, Anicut Capital, MapmyIndia,  Sameer Mehta, Aman Gupta, Tiger Shroff, Shraddha Kapoor  
• Headquarters: New Delhi

Chargeup offers battery swapping services for three-wheeler EVs in India. 

In February 2022, Chargeup reportedly raised $2.5 Mn in Pre-Series A funding round led by Capital A and Anicut Capita. 

The round also saw participation from angel investors including boAt’s Sameer Mehta, Aman Gupta, Tiger Shroff and Shraddha Kapoor. The startup claims to have expanded to 100 stations and onboarded 800 drivers on its platform. It further says that it has 100 dealers working with the platform.

As per its website, Chargeup has an AI and ML-based platform that provides services such as subscription-based usage, delivers 5,000 MwHr, forecasts demand hotspots, predicts energy demand, and operates 10K charging stations. The startup claims to have 800 satisfied users and 100 dealers associated with it. It also aims to power 1 Mn EVs by 2027.

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15. Clean Electric

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Akash Gupta, Abhinav Roy, Ankit Joshi 
• Funding Raised To Date: $8.2 Mn
• Investors: Info Edge Ventures, pi Ventures, Kalaari Capital 

Pune-based Clean Electric is developing batteries for two- and three-wheeler EVs that can be charged rapidly in under 12 minutes. 

It uses nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells to build its batteries that have the potential to solve one of the major bottlenecks in EV adoption globally – high charging time.

Clean Electric promises to have designed EV batteries that can deliver consistent performance across all public charging stations.

After raising $2.2 Mn in a seed funding round led by Kalaari Capital in 2022, the startup raised another $6 Mn in its Series A funding round co-led by Info Edge Ventures, pi Ventures, and Kalaari. 

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16. Corrit Electric

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Mayur Misra
• Funding Raised To Date: $9 Mn 
• Investors: SphitiCap
• Headquarters: Noida

Corrit Electric offers sustainable mobility solutions to consumers and B2B customers. It sells three electric bikes – Hover 1.0, Hover 2.0 and Hover 2.0+. The company has recently launched an electric bike, Transit, for B2B deliveries. It has a top speed of 70 kmph and payload capacity of 200 Kg. 

In November 2022, it secured $9 Mn in funding from venture capital fund SphitiCap to ramp up its production facility and manufacture electric bikes to resolve issues related to last-mile connectivity.

Earlier, it had shared plans to build 1.5 Lakh electric bikes in the next three years.

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17. eee-Taxi 

• Founded In: 2015
• Founders: Vipul Nanda, Nishant Saini
• Funding Raised To Date: NA
• Investors: NA

eee-Taxi is a tech-enabled platform offering EV ride-hailing management solutions working in a B2B model. It helps businesses reduce their employee logistics costs while also promoting the use and adoption of EVs.

The company develops modules including employee dashboards, employee applications, budget tracking, and others. The EV company also offers airport transfers, self-drive, and spot rentals.

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18. ElectricPe

• Founded In: 2021
• Founders: Avinash Sharma, Raghav Rohila
• Funding Raised To Date: $8 Mn
• Investors: Blume Ventures, Micelio Fund, Anshuman Bapna, Anupam Mittal, Arjun Ravi Sheth, Ashish Goel, Bhuvan Gupta, Green Frontier Capital, NB Ventures, Anchorage Capital Partners, Supermorpheus, and Climate Angels
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

ElectricPe offers charging infrastructure to customers. Through its app, EV owners can locate charging stations near them.

In November 2021, ElectricPe raised $3 Mn in a seed funding round led by Blume Ventures and Micelio Fund. The round saw participation from Terra.do’s Anshuman Bapna, Shaadi.com’s Anupam Mittal, Anchorage Capital’s Arjun Ravi Sheth, Urban Ladder’s Ashish Goel, and OfBusiness’ Bhuvan Gupta, among others.

Recently, Hero Electric partnered with ElectricPe to set up charging points pan-India for its customers. The charging infrastructure would be built in residential complexes, offices, malls, and other establishments. The partnership aims to strengthen the charging network and support EV adoption across India.

Prior to this, NoBroker had also partnered with ElectricPe to set up 1 Lakh electric charging stations in residential communities across India in 2022.

In January 2022, ElectricPe raised $5 Mn in its pre-series A round led by Green Frontier Capital, Blume Ventures and Micelio Fund, with participation from NB Ventures, Anchorage Capital Partners, Supermorpheus and Climate Angels.

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19. Electrifi Mobility

• Founded In: 2023
• Founders: Kunal Mundra and Nikhil Aggarwal
• Funding Raised To Date: NA
• Investors: NA
• Headquarters: Delhi-NCR

Founded in 2023 by former Cars24 CEO Kunal Mundra, Electrifi Mobility is a full-stack EV leasing startup. It offers an end-to-end asset management solution covering asset selection, leasing, maintenance, post-sales support, refurbishment, and redeployment of EV assets. 

The startup is built in partnership with Grip Invest and its founder and CEO Nikhil Aggarwal. In just a few months of its operations, Electrifi announced multiple partnerships and developments.

In December, BluSmart and Electrifi Mobility partnered to deploy over 1,000 four-wheeler EVs.

Recently, the startup also announced the opening of Electrifi Labs, where detailed testing of EVs and batteries will be conducted so that they can be rebuilt from scratch or refurbished as required.

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20. Emflux Motors 

• Founded In: 2016
• Founders: Ankit Khatry, Varun Mittal, Vinay Raj Somashekar
• Funding Raised To Date: $648K
• Investors: Meher Roy, Nikhil Arora, Meet Kanodia, Krit Sankalp, Nitish Singh and Risabh Gupta
• Headquarters: Bengaluru 

Emflux Motors offers sustainable mobility solutions and other tech solutions for EVs. It sells an electronic bike Emflux One that has a maximum speed of 200 kmph and can cover up to 200 km on a single charge. Besides this, it sells technology stack such as battery management system, motors, motor controller, charger circuit, EVSE, master controller, and battery pack. 

In 2017, Emflux Motors raised $648K in an angel funding round. The round saw participation from Meher Roy, Nikhil Arora, Meet Kanodia, Krit Sankalp, Jugnoo’s Nitish Singh, and Risabh Gupta.

The EV startup aims to create 10 Mn two-wheeler EVs in India by 2027. It primarily focuses on building brand and loyalty by creating high-performance electric vehicles.  It also plans to build an ecosystem of partner OEMs and become their tech and component supplier. 

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21. EMO Energy

• Founded In: 2022
• Founders: Sheetanshu Tyagi and Rahul Patel
• Funding Raised To Date: $1.5 Mn
• Investors: Transition VC, Gruhas
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

With its integrated tech stack for two- and three-wheeler EVs and heavy-duty vehicles, deeptech startup EMO Energy is addressing two challenges adversely affecting EV adoption in India – safety and charging efficiency. 

The startup calls its technology platform ZEN, which comes with different applications such as ZEN PAC (swappable battery packs for two- and three-wheelers), ZEN Ctrl. (battery management system and connected software), ZEN Rig (battery packs for heavy-duty vehicles), and ZEN Wall (fully integrated battery inverter system for residential and light commercial use).

EMO Energy has successfully conducted pilot programmes with nearly 10 electric vehicle (EV) companies in the country, deploying approximately 100 batteries to date. The startup is rapidly expanding its network of partnerships. While most of its offerings are still in the pilot phase, EMO Energy has already started generating revenue by selling its battery packs, ranging from 2 kWh to 3 kWh, for two- and three-wheelers.

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22. EMotorad

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Rajib Gangopadhyay, Kunal Gupta, Aditya Oza, Sumedh Battewar
• Funding Raised To Date: $23.2 Mn
• Investor: Basant Lohia from TaraSafe, Green Frontier Capital, LetsVenture, Ivy Growth associates, Panthera Growth Partners, Mahendra Singh Dhoni  
• Headquarters: Pune
• EMotorad sells electric cycles for daily commuting and casual rides. The startup uses local sourcing and manufacturing facilities in India to build electric cycles.

In October 2022, the Pune-based startup secured $2.9 Mn (INR 24 Cr) in its Pre-Series A funding round. During that time, it asserted that it sold more than 16K electric cycles in India since its inception. In November 2023, EMotorad raised $20 Mn (INR 166.8 Cr) as a part of its Series B funding round led by Panthera Growth Partners.

In early 2024, EMotorad also roped in former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni as an equity investor.

Its cap table also includes Green Frontier Capital (GFC), LetsVenture, Alteria Capital, Ivy Growth associates and Basant Lohia from TaraSafe. 

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23. ETrio 

• Founded In: 2016
• Founders: Sathya Yalamanchili, Deepak M V 
• Funding Raised To Date: $3 Mn
• Investor: Janardhan Rao
• Headquarters: Hyderabad

Etrio offers commercial and non-commercial electricity mobility solutions. Its product portfolio includes electric kits, retrofitted electric light commercial vehicles (eLCVs), a three-wheeler EV named Touro, and two bicycles – Ashva and iSwitch. eLCVs have been launched to transform and electrify the logistics segment, while bicycles were launched to meet the demands of cargo and personal segments. 

In 2020, ETrio raised $3 Mn in a Series A funding round led by Triumph Global’s Janardhan Rao. The round saw participation from a cohort of Singapore-based HNIs. 

As per its website, ETrio has partnered with various companies including Amazon, BigBasket, Flipkart, DIAGEO, Lightning Logistics, Amplus Solar, and ZYPP Electric. 

It has also received certifications from various government bodies such as ARAI, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, among others. 

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24. Euler Motors

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders:  Saurav Kumar
• Funding Raised To Date:  $100 Mn+ 
• Investors: Blume Venture, Emergent Ventures, Andrew Lee, Inventus India, Jetty Ventures, Srinivas Anumolu, K Ganesh, Sujeet Kumar, QRG Investments and Holdings, ADB Ventures,
• Headquarters: New Delhi 

Euler Motors offers commercial electrical mobility solutions through three-wheeler EVs, energy infrastructure, app and web-based software solutions. Its three-wheeler EV, Euler HiLoad, has the capacity to hold up to 688 Kg. The company claims it can get charged in 15 minutes and cover a distance of 151 Km on a single charge.

In the charging infra, the EV startup offers three types of chargers – Flash2, onboard charger, and Charge on Wheels. In the software segment, its app provides an array of services such as real-time GPS tracking, learning analytics, geo-fencing, and battery temperature, among others. 

In October 2022, Euler Motors raised about $60 Mn in its Series C round led by Singapore’s sovereign fund GIC. In November 2023, the startup raised about $14.4 Mn in its ongoing Series C extension round from British International Investment (BII) and Green Frontier Capital.  Existing investors, including ADB Ventures, Blume Ventures, Athera Venture Partners, Alteria Capital, GIC Singapore, and QRG Holdings, also participated in the round.

In early 2024, the startup concluded its Series C funding round by raising an additional $24 Mn.

It claims to have supplied more than 250 three-wheeler EVs to various companies including Ecom Express, BigBasket and Udaan.

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25. EVage

• Founded In: 2014
• Founders: Inderveer Singh, Pulkit Srivastava, Harnoor Kaur
• Funding Raised To Date: $28 Mn
• Investors: RedBlue Capital
• Headquarters: Chandigarh

EVage offers commercial solutions for sustainable mobility. It plans to supply electric commercial vehicles to the delivery fleets of logistics companies. 

Recently, Evage raised $28 Mn in a seed funding round from RedBlue Capital. Its first model, X, is a one-tonne truck built for the commercial delivery market.

The startup claims to be the supplier to Amazon India’s delivery partners. 

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26. Evera

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Nimish Trivedi, Vikas Bansal, Rajeev Tiwari
• Funding Raised To Date: $7 Mn
• Investors: Westova Capital, Devonshire Capital, IEG – Investment Banking Group
• Headquarters: New Delhi

Evera is a New Delhi-based electric cab services provider that operates in both B2B and B2C verticals. Founded in 2019, the startup claims to have taken more than 40,000 rides, with a network of 43 charging stations in the national capital region. Its parent entity is Prakriti E-Mobility.

Unlike many ride-hailing companies, Evera employs full-time drivers rather than working with gig workers. The startup says the drivers can’t cancel rides since they’re paid by the startup.

In early 2023, Evera raised $7 Mn in multiple tranches as part of its Pre-Series A funding round, led by IEG Investment Banking Group, Direct Capital, and Westova Global.

Evera competes directly with BluSmart, which raised $42 Mn in May 2023.

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27. Exponent Energy

• Founded In: 2020 
• Founders: Arun Vinayak, Sanjay Byalal
• Funding Raised To Date: $18 Mn 
• Investors: YourNest VC, 3one4 Capital, AdvantEdge VC, Motherson Group, Rajesh Yabaji, Pushkar Singh
• Headquarters: Bengaluru 

Exponent Energy offers energy solutions to EV owners. The startup claims that its lithium-ion battery and charger combo can charge EVs up to 100% within 15 minutes.  

In December 2021, the EV startup raised $5 Mn in a Pre Series A funding round led by existing investor YourNest VC. The round saw participation from other investors including 3one4 Capital, AdvantEdge VC and Motherson Group. 

As per an Inc42 report, it also raised an undisclosed investment in September 2021 from investors including YourNest, 3one4 Capital, AdvantEdge, BlackBuck’s Rajesh Yabaji, and LetsTransport’s Pushkar Singh among others.

Before launching Exponent Energy, its cofounder Arun Vinayak worked with Ather Energy for seven years, while the other cofounder Sanjay Byalal had earlier worked with Ather Energy as well as HUL.

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28. Finayo

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Brajendra Singh Tomar and Yogesh Prakash
• Funding Raised To Date: ~$2 Mn
• Investors: F Mec International Financial Services Limited, Choice Finserv
• Headquarters: Delhi NCR

Finayo is an EV financing startup that connects its lending partners with customers of EV retailers and OEMs through its AI-powered platform.

With a dedicated web dashboard for its lending partners, the platform allows them to see and manage borrower profiles and automate loan processing end-to-end. 

For EV borrower-facing entities, the startup provides a dashboard and mobile application for their executives to process loan applications and generate real-time loan offers for customers with multiple lenders. 

In December 2023, Finayo raised INR 16 Cr (approximately $1.9 Mn) in a mix of debt and equity funding from NBFCs and angel investor Manish Mehta.

Till November 2023, the EV lending startup had disbursed INR 20 Cr. In the forthcoming fiscal year, it plans to disburse INR 100 Cr with 60-70% of funds to be disbursed in the advancement of three-wheeler L3 and L5 EVs.

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29. Fresh Bus

• Founded In: 2022
• Founders: Sudhakar Reddy Chirra
• Funding Raised To Date: 8 Mn+
• Investors: ixigo, Kunal Shah, Sudarshan Venu, Deepak Garg
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Founded by former AbhiBus founder Sudhakar Reddy Chirra, Fresh Bus is an electric bus (ebus) platform that operates in the intercity bus travel market.

The startup, backed by traveltech major ixigo, launched its ebus service in early 2023 by unveiling its first route between Bengaluru and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. Currently, the bus service is also functional on the Hyderabad-Vijaywada route while the startup plans to start its intercity ebus service on newer routes like Bengaluru-Chennai, Mumbai-Ahmedabad, and Goa-Pune.

Fleet operator Fresh Bus has collaborated with EV manufacturer Olectra to procure its buses. 

In the growing ebus market, Fresh Bus competes with NueGo, Zingbus, and other major intercity bus platforms in the market. The startup has also built its own charging station network. In July 2024, Fresh Bus raised about $5.3 Mn as part of its Series A funding round.

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30. Fyn Mobility

• Founded In: 2013
• Founders: Visakh Sasikumar
• Funding Raised To Date: $2.4 Mn 
• Investors: Eagle10 Ventures, Bluehill Capital, Sattva Group, Nanavati family, Sincere Syndication, Conscience Multi-Family Office, GAIL (India) Ltd,  Arshad Sayyad, Vijay Ratnaparke, Shaji Koshy and IITM Research Park’s Ashok Jhunjhunwala, among others.
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Fyn Mobility, which was earlier known as Pi Beam, offers micro-mobility EV solutions and data analytics services for the EV ecosystem. Its product portfolio includes PIMO Utility two-wheeler, E-Trike, E-Kart, and E-Auto.  

In March 2022, Fyn reportedly raised $1.7 Mn in a Pre-Series A round led by Inflection Point Ventures. 

The round saw participation from investors including Sattva Group and Nanavati family, Sincere Syndication and Conscience Multi-Family Office, and angel investors Fidelity Investments’ Arshad Sayyad, Robert Bosch’s Vijay Ratnaparke, Royal Enfield’s Shaji Koshy and IITM Research Park’s Ashok Jhunjhunwala, among others.

Prior to this, the EV startup raised $705K in a bridge funding round from GAIL (India) Ltd. Currently, it has a presence in Bengaluru and Chennai. It plans to add 2,000 EVs by FY23. 

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31. goEgoNetwork

• Founded In: 2021
• Founders: Sayantan Chakraborti, Dheeman Kadam, Pravin Kumar 
• Funding Raised To Date: $2 Mn
• Investors: Olivier Guillaumond, Rishi Bagla
• Headquarters: Pune

goEgoNetwork offers energy solutions to customers. With its goME app, EV owners can locate the nearest charging stations and use them. 

In August 2021, goEgoNetwork raised $2 Mn (nearly INR 15 Cr) in seed funding to expand its existing electric charging network. The round saw participation from Bagla Group’s Rishi Bagla and Global Innovation Labs’ Olivier Guillaumond.

In 2021, goEgoNetwork is reported to have partnered with TVS Motor to promote EV infra in Himachal Pradesh. Following this, it set up an EV charging facility at Kaza in Spiti Valley to cater to the needs of EV scooters and cars in the region.

The EV startup has got certifications from various government bodies including ARAI and OCA.

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32. Grinntech 

• Founded In: 2013
• Founders: Nikhilesh Mishra, Puneet Jain
• Funding Raised To Date: $2 Mn  
• Investors: V Sumantran, Lakshmi Narayan, KS Manian
• Headquarters: Chennai

Grinntech offers energy storage solutions to customers. It claims to provide an array of lithium-ion batteries such as IC Engine starter batteries, e-cycle and robotics batteries, two-wheeler batteries, three-wheeler batteries, small commercial vehicle batteries, light commercial vehicle batteries, and MHCV batteries, among others.

In 2020, Grinntech raised $2 Mn in an angel funding round. The round saw participation from investors including Ashok Leyland’s V Sumantran, Cognizant’s Lakshmi Narayan, and NAPC’s KS Manian. During the same year, the startup also graduated from the IIT Madras Incubation Cell.

In 2020, Grinntech inked an MoU with the Tamil Nadu government involving an investment of INR 100 Cr. In the following year, it established a manufacturing facility in Chennai that can meet the demand of up to 400 MWh.

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33. Kabira Mobility

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Jaibir Siwach, Akash Siwach, and Sagar Siwach
• Funding Raised To Date: $52 Mn
• Investors: Al-Abdulla Group, Classic Group
• Headquarters: Goa

Kabira Mobility is a Goa-based electric motorcycle manufacturer, which started a fledged sales of its ebikes in April 2022. It targets young bike enthusiasts. 

The startup has so far launched two models of its flagship bikes – KM3000 and KM4000. While its KM3000 bike model comes with a 4.14 kWh battery capacity and a range of 120 km per charge, the KM4000 model has a battery capacity of 4.60 kWh and offers a range of 150 km. 

Kabira Mobility also has plans to launch pro variants of its KM3000 and KM4000 models this year. Next year, the ebike startup is expected to launch a new model – KM5000 – in the cruiser bike category.

Earlier this year, the startup raised $50 Mn (around INR 412 Cr) in its Series A funding round Qatar-based Al-Abdulla Group, taking its total funding received to INR 430 Cr.

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34. Kazam EV

• Founded In: 2020 
• Founders: Akshay Shekhar, Vaibhav Tyagi
• Funding Raised To Date: $4.53 Mn
• Investors: Inflection Point Ventures, We Founder Circle 
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Kazam EV offers software solutions for energy infrastructure. Besides aligning with its own charging stations, the startup’s software supports charging stations of other EV companies as well. It additionally helps micro-entrepreneurs earn money by setting up charging stations in their parking areas. 

In 2021, Kazam raised INR 7 Cr ($0.93 Mn) in a seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures. Besides, it raised an undisclosed amount of investment from We Founder Circle. Earlier in May 2023, the startup picked up $3.6 Mn in a round led by Avaana Climate Fund.

As per its website, Kazam has set up over 7,000 charging stations in India. It has a presence in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi-NCR, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. Its products are essentially utilised by EV OEMs, EV fleet operators and micro-entrepreneurs.

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35. Lithium Urban Technologies

• Founded In: 2014
• Founders: Sanjay Krishnan
• Funding Raised To Date: $58 Mn
• Investors: IFC, EverSource Capital 
• Headquarters: Bengaluru 

Lithium Urban offers sustainability solutions and charging infrastructure to business organisations. The startup essentially offers transport service through its fleet of EVs and associated charging stations.

As per its website, the startup is certified by ISO for implementing guidance on social responsibility. It presently has a fleet size of 2,000 vehicles and operates in over 15 cities, including Bengaluru, NCR, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Mumbai. 

Through its tech stack, the startup claims to deliver 2X productivity, reduce carbon footprint and cut down transportation costs by 40%. As per Tofler, its revenue from operations stood at INR 53.6 Cr in FY20 as against INR 41.8 Cr in FY19. However, its loss widened to INR 21.1 Cr in FY20 as compared to INR 15.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

A few days ago, it reportedly partnered with Tata Motors to deploy 5000 XPRES T Electric Sedans across India for employee transportation.

In March 2022, EverSource Capital, which manages India’s largest climate impact funds, acquired a majority stake in the startup for about $50 Mn. Prior to this, the startup raised $8 Mn from World Bank’s investment arm, International Finance Corporation (IFC), as an equity investor. It raised additional capital from other investors as well. 

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36. Log9 Materials

• Founded In: 2015
• Founders:Akshay Singhal, Kartik Hajela and Pankaj Sharma
• Funding Raised To Date: $65 Mn
• Investors: Amara Raja Batteries, Petronas Venture, Oxyzo Financial Services
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Incubated at IIT-Roorkee, deeptech startup Log9 Materials manufactures batteries for EVs and energy storage. The startup is also one of the few Li-ion cell manufacturers in the country.

In April 2023, Log9 Materials launched the country’s first commercial cell manufacturing facility at its campus in Bengaluru with an initial capacity of 50 MWh. The startup is working on both lithium titanate oxide (LTO) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell technologies.

Log9 Materials’ batteries have powered vehicles of EV manufacturers like Quantum Energy and Hala Mobility, along with the electric fleet of last-mile logistics companies such as Maersk, Blue Dart, and BluWheelz.

In January 2023, the startup raised $40 Mn in its Series B funding round led by Amara Raja Batteries. 

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37. Lohum

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Rajat Verma, Justin Lemmon, Gazanfar Safvi
• Funding Raised To Date: $20 Mn+
• Investors: Baring Private Equity Partners, Talbros Automotive Components, Stride Ventures
• Headquarters: Noida

Lohum is a producer of lithium-ion battery raw materials, which it achieves by recycling, repurposing, and low-carbon refining.

Working in a closed-loop recycling model, Lohum acquires used lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles, stationary storage, and consumer electronics. These batteries are then tested and, if deemed reusable, they are given a second life. If the batteries reach their end-of-life, Lohum recycles the battery materials and sells the resulting metals and chemicals to various customers across the supply chain.

Since its inception, the startup has raised over $20 Mn in funding. Lohum recently said that it has collaborated with insurtech unicorn ACKO to optimise the battery insurance and financing costs for the customers.

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38. Magenta Mobility

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Maxson Lewis, Darryl Dias
• Funding Raised To Date: $35 Mn
• Investors: bp Ventures, Morgan Stanley India, JITO Angel Network, HPCL, Indian American philanthropist Dr Kiran Patel
• Headquarters: Mumbai

From being a solution provider in the EV charging ecosystem, Magenta Mobility has pivoted to becoming an end-to-end integrated emobility solution provider. 

Currently, it operates over 2K electric three-wheelers and four-wheelers in the L5 and N1 category for last-mile delivery, which it is planning to expand to 5K vehicles by the end of FY24. Magenta Mobility runs its cargo delivery and logistics services in 18 cities, including Bengaluru, Mysuru, Pune Mumbai, Delhi NCR, and Hyderabad. The startup is not a manufacturer and sources its three-wheeler EVs from Altigreen Propulsion Labs, Euler Motors, Mahindra, and Bajaj, and four-wheeler EVs from Tata Motors and Switch Mobility.

In its charging ecosystem, Magenta Mobility manages 72 charging depots to cater to the charging needs of its EV fleet.

Besides, it also develops software technology to enable this entire emobility ecosystem.

In April 2023, Magenta Mobility raised $22 Mn (about INR 180.6 Cr) in its Series A1 funding round from bp Ventures and Morgan Stanley India infrastructure.

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39. Matter

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Mohal Lalbhai, Arun Pratap Singh, Kumar Prasad Telikepalli, and Saran Babu
• Funding Raised To Date: $45 Mn+
• Investors:  Info Edge’s Capital 2B Fund 1, Climate Angel Fund
• Headquarters: Ahmedabad

Founded in 2019 by Mohal Lalbhai, Arun Pratap Singh, Kumar Prasad Telikepalli and Saran Babu, Matter is an electric mobility and energy storage-focussed startup. 

The startup boasts a fully functional electric motorcycle AERA, which it launched earlier this year. The ebike has two variants – AERA 5000 and AERA 5000+ – which come with a range of up to 125 km.  

Not just this, Matter, last year, also unveiled what it claims is the country’s first active liquid-cooled two-wheeler EV battery MatterEnergy 1.0. It also closed a $10 Mn in an initial funding round in 2022.

In July 2024, it raised $35 Mn (about INR 290 Cr) in its ongoing Series B funding round, from US-based Helena, Japan Airlines & Translink Innovation Fund, and other existing investors. Matter will raise $65 Mn-$70 Mn overall in the Series B round.

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40. Metastable Materials

• Founded In: 2021
• Founders: Shubham Vishvakarma, Saurav Goyal, Manikumar Uppala
• Funding Raised To Date: Undisclosed 
• Investors: Sequoia Capital’s Surge,  Speciale Invest, Theia Ventures, Akshay Singhal, Sanjeev Rangrass
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Metastable Materials has developed a one-of-its-kind mechanism, a chemical-free integrated carbothermal reduction process, for extracting and recycling materials from lithium-ion batteries in a more economical and efficient manner. 

The startup was part of the eighth cohort of Sequoia’s Surge accelerator program.

In April 2023, the cleantech startup raised an undisclosed amount of funding in its Seed round from Sequoia Capital’s Surge and other venture capitalists like Speciale Invest and Theia Ventures. 

Metastable Materials is now setting up a 21,000 sq ft battery recycling facility on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

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41. MoEVing

• Founded In: 2021
• Founders: Mragank Jain, Vikash Mishra
• Funding Raised To Date:  $10 Mn 
• Investors:  D.S. Brar, Anshuman Maheshwary, Srihari Raju Kalidindi, Ashish Goel, Krishnadeva Veerareddy, BeyondTeq, GCC family offices, StrideOne, TradeCred, N+1 Capital, and Nitish Mittersain
• Headquarters: Gurugram

MoEVing offers intra-city last-mile delivery solutions, energy infrastructure and fintech solutions. It provides delivery services to companies operating in ecommerce, e-grocery, FMCG, logistics and D2C. Besides, it also works along with OEMs, drivers and financial institutions to address the problems of EV owners when they adopt EVs.

In May, the EV startup secured $5 Mn through equity and debt financing in its ongoing seed funding round. Investors like BeyondTeq, GCC family offices, StrideOne, TradeCred, N+1 Capital, and Nitish Mittersain from Nazara Technologies participated in the round. 

MoEving has a presence in 10 cities in India including Delhi-NCR, Pune, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata. It aims to add 10,000 EVs and 100 charging hubs in 30 cities by 2023. 

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42. Motovolt Mobility

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Tushar Choudhary 
• Funding Raised To Date: $1.9 Mn 
• Investors: Wami Capital, PPAP Automotive, Vikrampati Singhania, Ankur Agarwal, Vikas Bagaria
• Headquarters: Kolkata

Motovolt offers sustainable mobility solutions to consumers. Some of its electric bikes are URBN e-Bike, Kivo Easy, Ice, and Kivo 24. 

Recently, the startup also launched an electric bike called URBN for its consumers. The new electric bike has removable twin batteries, weighing about 10 kg each.

In November last year, it bagged $1.9 Mn in Pre-Series A funding round led by Wami Capital. Earlier, it had shared plans to invest INR 200 Cr into its business (in 2023) to enhance product offerings and expand its facility as well as sales network. It claims to have more than 100 POS across the country.

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43. Oben Electric

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Madhumita Agrawal, Dinkar Agarwal, and Sagar Thakkar
• Funding Raised To Date: $10.7 Mn
• Investors: Stride Ventures, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, Mumbai Angels, We Founder Circle
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Currently, the electric two-wheeler market is predominantly dominated by escooter manufacturers. However, the electric motorcycle sector is relatively limited, with only a few companies operating in this space.

Oben Electric is one of those few startups that are manufacturing electric bikes to make a major shift in a market ruled by the stalwarts like Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor, Hero MotoCorp, and Eicher Motors.

Its flagship electric motorcycle Oben Rorr comes with a top speed of 100 km per hour and a 4.4 kWh battery capacity that can fully charge in two hours.

In the electric motorcycle manufacturing space, Oben Electric currently competes with Revolt Motors, Ultraviolette, Matter, Odysse, Hop Electric, Kabira Mobility, and Orxa Energies.

The startup has raised around $10.7 Mn (over 88 Cr) in total funding so far. In its extended Pre-Series A funding round, it raised $4.88 Mn (INR 72 Cr) in June 2023.

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44. Odysse Electric

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Nemin Vora
• Funding Raised To Date: Bootstrapped
• Investors: NA
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Electric mobility startup Odysse is a part of the Vora group of companies that has a vast line of businesses with a primary focus on automobile-based products. As a two-wheeler EV manufacturer, Odysse makes both electric scooters and motorcycles.

In the motorcycle category, the startup has two models – Evoqis and Vader. In the escooter category, Odysse’s main two-wheeler models are E2go, Hawk, and V2.

Odysse also manufactures a last-mile delivery escooter electric scooter, TROT.

Hence, the startup competes with the major players across the EV two-wheeler market, including Revolt, Oben Electric, Ola Electric, TVS Motor, Hero Electric as well as the likes of Yulu.

The company has set up its EV manufacturing facility in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

In July 2023, Odysse announced a strategic partnership with Flipkart to help customers pre-book and purchase Odysse’s EVs more seamlessly from the marketplace.

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45. Ohm Mobility

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Nikhil Nair
• Funding Raised To Date: $400K
• Investors: Antler India, Blume Founders Fund, Catalyst Fund, Kunal Shah
• Headquarters: Bangalore

Ohm Mobility is an end-to-end EV-focussed financing platform, which aims to help EV players to get easier access to institutional capital while enabling lenders to discover, verify, and deploy capital to EV companies. It is building a technology platform to connect EV buyers with capital providers.

In May 2023, Ohm Mobility raised INR 3 Cr in a pre-seed funding round led by Antler India. The funding round also saw participation from Blume Founders Fund and angels like Sagar Gubbi, Anshuman Bapna Mathew Chako, and Karishma Menon.

Its current client portfolio includes Race Energy, Eveez, and Hala Mobility, among others. The startup competes with the likes of Vidyut and Turno in the space.

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46. Okinawa Autotech

• Founded In: 2015
• Founders: Jeetender Sharma 
• Funding Raised To Date: Bootstrapped 
• Investors: NA
• Headquarters: Gurugram

Okinawa offers sustainable mobility solutions. The startup offers EV vehicles–RIDGE+, PRAISE PRO, IPRAISE+, R30, Okinawa R30 and LITE. Its high-speed scooters hold various features such as detachable batteries, fast charging, central locking, app connectivity, etc. Its EV vehicles are priced at INR 50K-INR 1.14 Lakh.

As per LinkedIn, it has over 350 dealerships across India so far. It has received a FAME II subsidy from the Indian government and also, got IATD certification for design and manufacturing. It also partnered with the Indian Navy, Delhi Transport Corporation and Tirupati Smart City.

It claims to have sold more than 1 lakh EV scooters since its inception. It has two manufacturing plants in Rajasthan; one plant with a capacity of more than 1 lakh units is in Bhiwandi while the other with 0.5 Mn units is in Alwar. 

Since It’s a bootstrapped venture, the startup has not got external financing so far. However, it is reportedly looking at raising INR 400-INR 500 Cr from American and European private equity players.

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47. Ola Electric 

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Bhavish Aggarwal
• Funding Raised To Date: $1 Bn  
• Investors: Tekne Private Ventures, Alpine Opportunity Fund, Edelweiss, Tiger Global and Matrix India, SoftBank, Hyundai, Kia Motors, Bank of Baroda, Falcon Edge, IIFL PE, Cars 24, Moglix, Dealshare, VSS Investco, Pawan Munjal, Ratan Tata, Rahul Mehta
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Bhavish Agarwal-led Ola Electric offers two-wheelers EVs and energy infrastructure. Founded in 2017, the EV startup manufacturing facility, Ola Future Factory, has a production capacity of 10 Mn two-wheeler EVs per annum and deploys over 3000 robots. 

Recently, Ola Electric was also selected for receiving incentives from the Indian government under the $2.4 Bn PLI scheme to manufacture advanced chemistry cell batteries. A few days later, it also invested in Israel-based battery technology company StoreDot to have access to its XFC battery technology that charges batteries in five minutes. 

In January 2022, Ola Electric had completed its $200 Mn Series C funding round at a valuation of $5 Bn. The round saw participation from investors including Tekne Private Ventures, Alpine Opportunity Fund, and Edelweiss, among others. In October 2023, the company announced closing a $384 Mn funding round in a mix of equity and debt led by Temasek and the State Bank of India.  

Ola Electric got listed on the Indian bourses in August 2024.

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48. Omega Seiki Mobility

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Uday Narang
• Funding Raised To Date: Bootstrapped 
• Investors: NA
• Headquarters: New Delhi

Omega Seiki Mobility is an EV manufacturer working across multiple vehicle categories including two-wheelers, cargo and passenger three-wheelers, and trucks tailored for commercial use. Its EV models include Rage+, Stream, and Mopido. 

With an investment of $75 Mn in total, the company has established R&D facilities in India and across other global locations – Thailand, South Korea, Europe, and Latin America. Omega Seiki has manufacturing facilities in Faridabad and Pune.

The company is a part of the Anglian Omega Group, which consists of more than 20 companies.

 Omega Seiki Mobility claims to have sold more than 8,000 EVs so far and operates a vast network of more than 190 dealerships across India. As per Vahan data, Omega Seiki Pvt Ltd’s total EV registrations were 3,579 units in 2023.

The company claims that it is also foraying into the premium electric two-wheeler segment soon – a category that Ola Electric, Ather, and TVS Motor currently dominate.

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49. Pure EV 

• Founded In: 2015
• Founders: Rohit Vadera, Nishanth Dongari
• Funding Raised To Date: $40 Mn+
• Investors: VC Nannapaneni, Bennett Coleman, Hindustan Times Media 
• Headquarters: Telangana

PURE offers sustainable mobility solutions and energy storage systems. It manufactures five EVs models including eTryst 350, epluto, epluto7G, ETranceNEO and ETrance+.   

Its electric bike, eTryst 350 is powered by 4.0 KW peak and 3.0 KW nominal motors. The EV bike’s top speed is 85 kmph and has a load capacity of 160 kg. The epluto scooter is powered with 250 Watt brushless hub motor, and has a top speed of 25 kmph. The epluto7G is powered by 2.2 KW peak and 1.5 KW nominal motors and has a top speed of 60 kmph. 

The startup graduated from IIT Hyderabad. In February 2024, the startup raised $8 Mn in a fresh funding round led by Bennett Coleman, Hindustan Times Media Ventures, with participation from Ushodaya Enterprises and some HNIs.

The EV maker claims to have sold over 70,000 vehicles through a network of 140+ outlets so far, operating across India and exporting to South Asian countries. 

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50. RACE Energy 

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Arun Sreyas, Gautham M
• Funding Raised To Date: $6 Mn
• Investors:  Huddle, Prophetic Ventures, Micelio, growX Ventures
• Headquarters: Hyderabad

RACE Energy builds retrofit kits for transforming conventional three-wheeler vehicles into EVs. It also provides energy infrastructure via its battery-swapping stations.

The startup raised $1.3 Mn in a seed funding round led by Micelio Fund and growX ventures in 2021. The round saw participation from Huddle, Prophetic Ventures and BITSian Angels, among others. 

The capital, raised from the round, was infused in research and development (R&D), enhancing the startup’s swapping technology and infrastructure. Prior to this, it raised $500K in a seed funding round from growX ventures, Prophetic Ventures and some angel investors.

The company raised $3 Mn in a pre-series A round led by growx Ventures with participation from Micelio Mobility, Huddle and other angel investors in 2023. The funds will be used for market expansion and for building a new facility.

It aims to set up an extensive battery-swapping network in India and foray into other continents by ​2023.

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51. Revfin

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Sameer Aggarwal
• Funding Raised To Date: $30 Mn+
• Investors: DFC, Lets Venture, Green Frontiers Capital, Dheeraj Jain
• Headquarters: Delhi

Revfin is a Delhi-based startup that is trying to make EV financing easier. It provides loans for two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and other small EVs.

The startup is focussed on helping individual drivers in Tier II and III towns get loans for commercial EVs. It largely provides financing for passenger transportation, ecommerce, and cargo delivery EVs.

Revfin has its own NBFC to issue loans. In June 2023, the startup raised $5 Mn in debt from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). In December last year, it raised $14 Mn in its Series B funding round, led by Omidyar Network. 

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52. Revolt Motors 

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Rahul Sharma 
• Funding Raised To Date: $20 Mn+ (approx)
• Investors: RattanIndia Group
• Headquarters: Haryana

Revolt offers sustainable mobility solutions across India. The startup manufactures AI-enabled EV bikes – RV 400 and RV 300. Its EV bikes are equipped with onboard charging and portable charging features. The RV 400 has a 3.24 kWh lithium battery while RV 300 has a 2.7 kWh lithium battery. 

The startup also offers app-based battery swapping stations named Revolt Switch Stations where EV bike owners can exchange their batteries for a charged one. It has retail stores in multiple cities of India, including Jaipur, Surat, Bengaluru, Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Noida, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Visakhapatnam, Lucknow, Kochi and Hubli. 

In April 2021, it secured INR 150 Cr (around $20.12 Mn at then exchange rates) from RattanIndia Group to expand its footprint in India and the South Asian market. With this investment, RattanIndia acquired a 43% stake in the Haryana-based EV startup, while Rajiv Rattan, chairman of RattanIndia Enterprises, joined its board as a non-executive chairman.

Earlier this year, RattanIndia acquired Revolt entirely, making it a wholly-owned subsidy.

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53. River

• Founded In: 2021
• Founders: Aravind Mani and Vipin George
• Funding Raised To Date: $68 Mn
• Investors: Al Futtaim Group, Lowercarbon Capital, Toyota Ventures, Yamaha Motor Corp
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

River is an electric two-wheeler manufacturer that launched its first escooter model India in February 2023. The startup ran operations in stealth mode for the last two years while working on its product development and R&D.

River’s Indie comes with a motor that has a peak power of 6.7 kW and can reach a top speed of 90 km per hour. The current vehicle model has a 4 kWh battery with a range of 120 km. 

River throws direct competition to the escooter majors like Ola Electric, Ather Energy, TVS Motor, Pure EV, and others.

In June 2023, River raised $15 Mn (INR 124 Cr) and in February 2024, it raised another $40 Mn in its Series B funding round. So far, the startup has raised $68 Mn in three funding rounds.

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54. SmartE 

• Founded In: 2015 
• Founders: Goldie Srivastava 
• Funding Raised To Date: $18.3 Mn 
• Investors: Mitsui and Co, Ecotransit Investments International, Shell Foundation
• Headquarters: Delhi

SmartE offers last-mile connectivity to commuters. The startup operates a fleet of electric vehicles in more than 10 cities in India, including Faridabad, Noida, Gurugram, Delhi, Lucknow, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. 

In January 2022, SmartE along with Revfin, an EV-focused lending startup, got an undisclosed amount of investment from the Shell Foundation to extend new loans to three-wheelers EVs on its platform. In July 2019, it raised INR 100 Cr in a Series B funding round from Mitsui and Co. Prior to this, it had raised $5 Mn in Series A round from Ecotransit Investments International.  

According to its website, SmartE has partnered with 17 companies such as Kinetic Green, NTPC, SBI, HSIIDC, ACME, Sun Mobility, Exicom and AMARA RAJA. It further claims to have worked with more than 25 clients, including BigBasket, Flipkart, SpicXpress, Milkbasket, and Blowhorn.

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55. Snap-E Cabs

• Founded In: 2022
• Founders: Mayank Bindal and Jaydip Mukherjee
• Funding Raised To Date: Bootstrapped
• Investors: NA
• Headquarters: Kolkata

The 2022-founded Snap-E Cabs is an electric ride-hailing business that competes with the likes of BluSmart as well as Uber and Ola in the fast-evolving Indian ride-hailing market.

The bootstrapped startup initiated its operations in August 2022 and achieved a total fleet size of 600 electric cars by November 2023. 

Currently running in Kolkata only, Snap-E plans to deploy 2,000-3,000 more cars in the city in the next two years. However, instead of expanding its operations further in Tier-I cities, Snap-E aims to bring its electric cab services to cities in Raipur and Bhuvaneshwar.

It achieved a gross merchandise value (GMV) of INR 11 Cr in just six months till October 2023. Snap-E is in talks with some VC firms and angel investors to raise some external funding.

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56. Sheru

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Ankit Mittal, Nakul Mehan, and Shikhar Sharma
• Funding Raised To Date: $2 Mn
• Investors: Micelio, Smile Group, AdvantEdge
• Headquarters: Delhi

A brainchild of Ankit Mittal, Nakul Mehan and Shikhar Sharma, Sheru is a new-generation energy storage startup that has integrated vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology with battery swapping infrastructure. 

The startup initially operated battery swapping infrastructure for e-rickshaws. In 2023, Sheru launched a virtual cloud storage network, NetBat, which aggregates idle EV batteries to create energy storage facilities for utility companies. 

Power producers can simply tap into Sheru’s platform to store energy virtually as per their demand and on a pay-per-use basis. 

Sheru’s range of products and services also cater to battery manufacturers, financiers, resellers, and distribution companies. 

In June 2023, Sheru announced a partnership with intercity bus service provider, zingbus. Recently, Sheru also launched EnergyBox, a battery charging dock designed to charge detachable electric two-wheeler batteries at home, while also providing power backup for homes.

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57. Statiq

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders:  Akshit Bansal, Raghav Arora 
• Funding Raised To Date: ~$26 Mn
• Investors: Shell Ventures, Y Combinator

Statiq is an EV charging network provider that provides both hardware and software solutions. Its wide range of hardware solutions includes Statiq DC CCS charger, Statiq Circle, and AdWall.

Through its app, users can avail charging services installed by Statiq, as well as other prominent charging network providers, including E-Fill, Sunfuel, and GLIDA. 

Over the years, Statiq has joined forces with multiple government bodies, automaker companies and major hospitality players covering more than 65 cities, comprising over 7,000 chargers. In July this year, the startup partnered with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL).

Statiq plans to install 20,000 charging points across the country by 2025. In 2022, it raised $25.7 Mn in its Series A round led by Shell Ventures.

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58. SUN Mobility 

• Founded In: 2016
• Founders: Chetan Maini, Uday Khemka
• Funding Raised To Date: $50 Mn 
• Investors: Vitol
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

SUN Mobility, a joint venture of Maini Group and Sun Group, offers energy infrastructure. It manufactures lithium-ion batteries, named Smart Batteries, for two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and buses. 

Through its app, EV drivers can locate its battery swapping stations and Quick Interchange Solutions, and swap their batteries. 

As per its website, the startup has partnered with various companies such as Omega Seiki, Vitol, Zypp Electric, Tata Power-DDL, Zyngo, Bosch, Piaggio, IndianOil, Uber, SmartE, Microsoft, and Ashok Leyland. It presently has 65 swapping stations in 15 cities in India, including Delhi, Noida, Faridabad, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Gurugram, and Bengaluru.

In October 2021, it reportedly secured $50 Mn in funding from Vitol to expand its footprint in India and abroad. 

It aims to set up 500 battery-swapping stations in the country by the end of the current year. It further plans to launch new products to improve the battery-swapping experience and strengthen its leadership.

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59. TORK Motors

• Founded In: 2010
• Founders:  Kapil Shelke
• Funding Raised To Date: $10 Mn+
• Investors: Ratan Tata, Maxis Capital, Bharat Forge, Bhavish Aggarwal

TORK Motors is an electric motorcycle manufacturer. Registered in 2010, the EV startup also claims to be the first electric motorcycle maker in the country.

In early 2024, TORK Motors raised $6 Mn in a fresh funding round from Maxis Capital. The startup claims to have filed over 50 patents and designs so far. It also manufactures powertrains for two- and three-wheelers.

In 2023, Log9 and TORK Motors partnered to promote interoperable charging infrastructure in the country under the Bharat Charge Alliance (BCA).

As per Vahan data, the EV bike OEM saw a total vehicle registration of 1,589 units in 2023, up almost 400% YoY.

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60. TSUYO

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Lalit Baid, Vijay Kumar 
• Funding Raised To Date: $12 Mn+
• Investors: Ramkrishna Forgings
• Headquarters: Delhi

TSUYO Manufacturing, a subsidiary of JYVA Engineering, makes powertrain solutions for electric vehicles (EVs) in India and other Asian nations.  

The startup produces BLDC motors and controllers for three-wheeler electric vehicles. It also builds customised EV solutions for companies, according to its website.

In December last year, Kolkata-based supplier Ramkrishna Forgings Ltd. acquired a 51% stake in TSUYO for around INR 100 Cr (around $12.07 Mn at the then exchange rates). 

Ramkrishna Forgings had said that it would invest heavily in TSUYO in the next five years to increase its turnover to around INR 500 Cr by the end of the fifth year. 

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61. Ultraviolette Automotive

• Founded In: 2016
• Founders: Narayan Subramaniam and Niraj Rajmohan  
• Funding Raised To Date: $20.56 Mn
• Investors: TVS, Zoho Corporation, Kumar Vembu, 
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Ultraviolette Automotive offers sustainable mobility solutions and energy infrastructure to customers. The EV startup sells a zero-emission electric bike named F77 and batteries on its website. 

In December 2021, Ultraviolette Automotive raised INR 112.5 Cr (about $15 Mn) from TVS Motor and Zoho. While TVS invested INR 75 Cr, Zoho pumped INR 38 Cr into the startup.  

Prior to this, Ultraviolette Automotive got an investment of INR 30 Cr from TVS in Series B funding round. In October 2020, it got an undisclosed amount of investment from GoFrugal’s Kumar Vembu as a part of a Series B round. Vembu also invested in the EV startup’s Series A round.

In 2018, Ultraviolette Automotive raised $862K (INR 6 Cr) in Series A round from TVS Motor Company. Earlier in 2017, TVS invested $700K (INR5 Cr) for a 14.78% stake in the EV startup.

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62. Vecmocon

• Founded In: 2016
• Founders:  Peeyush Asati, Adarshkumar B and Shivam Wankhede 
• Funding Raised To Date: Funding: $5.2 Mn
• Investors: Tiger Global, Blume Ventures, Tessellate Ventures
• Headquarters: Delhi-NCR

Vecmocon offers battery management systems, vehicle intelligence services, chargers and instrument clusters. Its plug-and-play service integrates into electric vehicles’ OEMs. It is currently offering these services to electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, forklifts and tractors.

According to its website, the EV startup will soon begin offering motor controllers and fleet management for electric vehicles. 

In October, the EV startup secured $5.2 Mn in its Pre-Series A funding round from Tiger Global, Blume Ventures and other angel investors. The startup said it powered 5K EVs to date and aims to power more than 500K electric vehicles by 2025.

In 2019, it secured $300K in its seed funding round led by Tessellate Ventures.

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63. Vidyut Tech

• Founded In: 2021
• Founders: Xitij Kothi and Gaurav Srivastava
• Funding Raised To Date: $14 Mn+
• Investors: 3one4 Capital, Force Ventures, Veda VC, Kunal Shah, Sahil Barua
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Founded in 2021, Vidyut Tech is a commercial EV financing and vehicle lifecycle management platform, which aims to make commercial EV ownership more accessible and affordable.

The startup is trying to solve some of the biggest problems in the EV financing space by decoupling batteries from vehicles while underwriting loans for EVs. Given there is a gap in the longevity of EV batteries and vehicle chassis, Vidyut Tech believes that this approach works better for most customers in the L5 category of vehicles that it caters to.

Besides a traditional term loan plan, Vidyut provides buyers with a hybrid financing model for vehicle loans with a battery subscription. This brings down the upfront cost of the EVs by 40%-50%.

Using battery health data and its proprietary underwriting model, Vidyut extracts a high residual value for EVs, enabling customers to get an effective interest rate of 7% while buying the vehicles.

Recently, in February, it raised $10 Mn as a part of its Series A funding round led by 3one4 Capital. Vidyut now plans to expand its offerings in EV insurance, after-sales, servicing maintenance, and even charging and resale.

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64. Yulu

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Amit Gupta, RK Misra, Naveen Dachuri, Hemant Gupta
• Funding Raised To Date: $125 Mn+
• Investors: Blume Ventures, 3One4 Capital, Wavemaker Partners, Incubate Fund India, Magna, Bajaj
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Yulu offers sustainable mobility solutions and charging infrastructure. It provides emobility solutions in cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, and Hyderabad while also offering an AI-enabled battery-as-a-service (BaaS) to its electric vehicle users through the ‘Yuma Energy’ battery swapping stations.

The startup offers Yulu Miracle for urban commuters and Yulu DeX for last-mile delivery. Besides, in 2023, the company also launched Yulu Wynn to provide its customers with the experience of owning its bikes.

In 2022, Yulu raised $82 Mn in its Series B funding round led by the Magna, with participation from Bajaj Auto. In February 2024, the startup secured another $19.25 Mn from the same strategic investors.

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65. Zen Mobility

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Namit Jain
• Funding Raised To Date: Bootstrapped
• Investors: NA

Zen Mobility designs, engineers, and manufactures custom light electric vehicles (LEVs) with an aim to transform logistics and urban mobility. 

Zen Mobility is currently piloting the delivery of grocery and dairy products for startups, including BigBasket and Country Delight, via its newly launched mobile refrigeration unit, Micro Pod ThermoFlex. 

Its Micro Pod ThermoFlex can store products in a range of 15 to -15 degrees Celsius, depending on the needs. 

The startup is aiming to raise $10 Mn in its maiden funding round from a strategic partner.

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66. Zypp Electric

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Akash Gupta, Rashi Agarwal
• Funding Raised To Date: $12 Mn
• Investors: Northern Arc, 9Unicorns, Anthill Ventures, Nanavati Family Office, We Founder Circle, Riso Capital Fund, Dholakia Ventures, Venture Catalysts, IAN Fund, Tarun Saraf, Rahul Khera, Arjun Seth, Mark Joseph
• Headquarters: Gurugram

Zypp Electric offers B2B delivery and shared mobility services to consumers. It provides electric scooters for last-mile delivery to more than 50 companies, including Zomato, Swiggy, BigBasket, Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, PharmEasy, Delhivery, and Spencers, among others. 

Earlier, it had shared that with 6,000 electric vehicles on the road, it helped its partners complete more than 5 Mn deliveries in the financial year 2021-22.

In September 2021, it bagged $7 Mn in a Series A funding round led by 9Unicorns and Anthill Ventures. 

It has a headcount of 400 employees and plans to double its employee base by September 2023. 

This is a running article, we will keep adding more names to the list.

Last updated on September 18, 2024

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JM Financial has initiated coverage on listed drone manufacturer ideaForge with a ‘buy’ rating, saying the startup is set to benefit from the government’s “positive” policy push and increase in drone adoption across sectors in the country.

Despite the recent decline in its share price and weak earnings reports, the brokerage has set a price target of INR 845, which implies a 21% upside to its last close of INR 696.55 on the BSE. 

Shares of ideaForge jumped 2.1% to INR 711.25 on the BSE during the intraday trading session today (September 16).

JM Financial analysts in their research report pointed out that ideaForge is one of the early entrants into the drone industry in India and the first one to locally develop vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drones. Besides, its core strength is in new technology and product development and one of the few OEMs globally to have its proprietary autopilot sub-system and ground control software like BlueFire Touch, ground control station software, enabling safe and autonomous surveillance and mapping operations.

“ideaForge’s core strength of technical know-how and new technology and product development capability is supplemented by increasing adoption of drone usage by defence and non-defence space. Strong long-term client relationships and focus on exports augur well for the company to capitalise on upcoming opportunities,” said the analysts. 

However, JM Financial believes there will be a slowdown in the near term, primarily due to delays in order booking. It sees ideaForge’s order inflows to start picking up from H2 of the current fiscal (FY25), which will lead to revenue pickup from FY26.

It is worth noting that the startup posted a 94% decline in its profit after tax (PAT) to INR 1.2 Cr in Q1 FY25 from INR 18.9 Cr in the previous year’s quarter. This was also an 87% decline from INR 10.3 Cr posted in PAT in Q4 FY24.

Meanwhile, ideaForge’s operating revenue fell 11.2% year-on-year and  15.7% quarter-on-quarter to INR 86.2 Cr in Q1 FY25.

ideaForge’s CEO Ankit Mehta said during the last quarterly earnings announcement that the company was able to successfully complete the Early Adopter Program (EAP) with customers in the US and received positive feedback, which indicated confirmed orders from that geography in the coming days. 

JM Financial has noted the company’s success in the US market will also open up opportunities in other geographies like Africa. 

Shares of ideaForge are trading around 16% lower year to date.

The post Drone Push: JM Financial Initiates Coverage On ideaForge With ‘Buy’ Rating, Sees 21% Upside appeared first on Inc42 Media.

India has big plans for a sustainable tomorrow. For starters, the nation has set its sight on net zero emissions by 2070. Also, the pace at which the country is adopting electric vehicles is astonishing, and the government’s role in subsidising the industry and end users is just the icing on the cake.

All in all, the country’s fight against air pollution is as serious as it gets, given that India is home to one of the five most polluted cities in the world. 

Even more concerning is that, of the 99 cities tracked last year for the worst air pollution globally, 83 were from India. 

This is happening despite the government’s strong push to phase out diesel engines and eventually petrol ones. On top of that, a significant percentage of vehicles in India already run on CNG, a clean fuel introduced in the early 2000s as an alternative.

Besides all that is being done, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) is doing everything in its power to preserve the environment from various miscreants, including construction and mining dirt and dust, which, surprisingly, account for 59% of air pollution in India. 

Amid all the brouhaha around curbing air pollution, it’s important to note that the traditional brick industry has been a major contributor to air pollution for a long time. Reports indicate that around 300 Bn bricks are produced annually in South Asia, with India contributing to 75% of this total. This high production level not only leads to increased coal consumption but also substantially raises CO2 emissions.

While that is true, brick manufacturing impacts 8% of the air pollution in Delhi and nearby districts. A research paper stated that brick kilns are “a major contributor to ambient air pollution and are responsible for up to 91% of total PM emissions in some cities”.

The problems caused by traditional clay brick manufacturing are numerous. It not only leads to higher fossil fuel consumption but also contributes to pollution of air, water, and land. Although there have been discussions and various efforts to make brick production more sustainable, including the growing popularity of fly ash bricks, many of these methods still fall short of being fully sustainable.

From the array of problems that contribute to the growing challenge of environmental degradation, including plastics, Udaipur-based Angirus has vowed to make the construction sector sustainable with its ecofriendly bricks that are made of non-recyclable waste material, including plastics.

Founded in 2020, the startup, using its patented technology, works to upcycle non-recyclable waste materials into functional and ecofriendly building materials such as bricks and paver blocks.

The startup’s name takes inspiration from an Indian sage, who is also considered the inventor of clay bricks. The cofounders call their startup the Angiras sage of modern times.

The startup has so far received INR 80 Lakh in grants and awards from different organisations, including IIT Madras, Pernod Ricard India Foundation, and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Angirus has also raised INR 36 Lakh in equity from IIM Ahmedabad Ventures and a few angel investors.

Angirus’ Early Days

Although Angirus was founded in October 2020, its story began much earlier, in 2019, when cofounder and CEO Kunjpreet Arora was pursuing civil engineering from Rajasthan Technical University.

Growing up in Udaipur, Arora was deeply troubled by the sight of plastic waste scattered across the city. Even though the government was doing its bit to raise awareness, Arora realised it wasn’t enough.

As a civil engineering student, Arora started researching whether single-use plastics can be upcycled to make bricks for construction. 

Around the same time, Lokesh Puri Goswami, now the cofounder and CTO of Angirus, was working on a marble slurry project.

As Arora moved ahead with her research, she found that one can easily make construction bricks by melting plastic waste and mixing it with marble slurry. The bricks of this compound are stronger and more durable than the traditional ones.

The findings were mind-boggling, and the two joined forces not to solve the broader issue of waste management and make sustainable bricks for a greener and cleaner tomorrow.

During this time, the Covid-19 pandemic struck the world, forcing people behind the walls of their homes. This period proved to be beneficial for the cofounders, and they kept doing secondary research to understand the potential demand for its upcoming products. 

In 2021, Angirus signed an MoU with a local municipal corporation in Udaipur, which had a construction and demolition recycling plant under its jurisdiction. Angirus started using the plant to recycle the construction and demolition mix into recycled aggregates to be used in concrete, recycled bricks, and more.

Soon after, the cofounders started working on building a machine of their own that could use various recycled waste to make bricks. 

“The traditional brick kiln industry contributes heavily to carbon emissions and relies on manual labour. With stricter government regulations, we saw an opportunity to bridge the gap between outdated practices and modern technology,” the cofounders said.

By 2023 end, the startup also began a few pilots with local contractors and builders. From here, Angirus started getting orders. Currently, its pilot facility in Udaipur has a capacity of producing 12,000 bricks per month.

Currently, the founders are in talks with some of the top builders and architects in Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Indore, Srinagar, and some areas in Rajasthan. Angirus has already secured INR 50 Lakh worth of orders.

Angirus Imagines A Society Made Of ‘Wricks’ 

The startup’s bricks, called wricks, are made from 25-30% plastic waste and the rest from industrial byproducts. Also, these wricks are waterproof due to the plastic used in them.

According to the founders, the wricks are also 80% damp-proof, offer 20% more thermal insulation than clay bricks, and are twice as strong. 

“While traditional bricks have a strength of 4-6 megapascals (MPa), ‘wricks’ boast a strength of 12-18 MPa,” Arora said, adding that these parameters are lab-tested at IISc Bangalore, NABL Labs and Shriram Institute for Industrial Research.

“In fact, one of our Chennai clients has said that he’s witnessing at least a 15-degree temperature difference from outside the building versus inside of the building that is being built with our product,” the cofounder said.

Behind this innovation is the startup’s technology and machines. The bricks are made in a three-step process, which includes mixing, melting, and moulding. Given a large part of the process is automated, the brick-making process is also less labour-intensive.

In December 2023, Angirus received the first patent for its technology. The proprietary tech has helped the startup match the prices of traditional bricks.

For instance, clay or cement bricks may cost around INR 12 to INR 20 a block in Tier 1 cities while Angirus’ wricks are priced at INR 15 to INR 20 per block.

“Earlier we were paying INR 9 per kg when we collected the plastic waste from Mumbai and Jaipur, but now we are paying INR 3 per kg from local cities, so that has also drastically reduced our manufacturing cost as well,” Arora said. 

The startup expects to improve its unit economics and reduce manufacturing costs when it starts to produce at scale.

Where Is Angirus Headed?

Since launching commercial sales in August 2023, Angirus has achieved INR 7 Lakh in revenue in FY24. Notably, it garnered around INR 4 Lakh revenue in just the May-July period, according to the founders. Looking ahead to FY25, Angirus is aiming for INR 70 Lakh in revenue. 

To support this expansion, the company is seeking INR 1.5 Cr in equity and an additional INR 1.5 Cr in grants. It is building a new facility in Bengaluru, which will have a production capacity of 1-1.2 Lakh wricks a month.

However, despite the promising opportunity, there are challenges ahead. For one, the awareness of sustainable construction practices among individuals and builders is still limited. 

Per the founders, while large builders are starting to embrace sustainability due to government green building initiatives and ESG goals, widespread adoption of Angirus’ wricks and sustainable building materials in general will still take time.

“Once the builders see the environmental benefits of adopting our bricks, it will bring about a revolution. But this will take some time,” Arora said.

Meanwhile, the startup is receiving active interest from global markets like Europe, Australia, and the UAE. However, Angirus plans to address challenges in the Indian market first.

While that is the startup’s long-term goal, it will be interesting to see how Angirus stirs up the debate around sustainable construction practices with its environmentally friendly wricks. 

[Edited by Shishir Parasher]

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Riding the IPO wave in the domestic equity market this year, Ather Energy is set to become the second electric mobility startup to go public. 

Amid growing appetite for new-age tech stocks among Indian stock market investors, 10 such companies have already listed on the bourses this year, including Ather’s biggest competitor Ola Electric.

Nearly a month after the Bhavish Aggarwal-led startup made its public market debut with a primary issue of INR 5,500 Cr, Ather filed its DRHP with the SEBI for an INR 3,100 Cr public offering (primary capital). Besides a smaller IPO size compared to Ola Electric’s, there are quite a few fundamental differences between the two EV startups that led the wave of premium category consumer escooter adoption in India.

Despite having a first-mover advantage, Ather fell behind Ola Electric due to the latter’s speed in expanding market reach, creating buzz about its products, and scaling up infrastructure and sales. 

This has resulted in Ather trying to catch up with deep-pocketed Ola Electric ever since the latter’s entry into the two-wheeler EV segment.

Ather’s Muted Growth Compared To Ola Electric

Ola Electric was founded in 2017 and began the deliveries of its first EV model, the Ola S1 Pro, in December 2021.

In the year ended March 31, 2022 (FY22), Ola Electric clocked a revenue of INR 373.4 Cr. In FY23, its revenue grew over 7X to INR 2,782.7 Cr. Continuing the sharp growth, Ola Electric’s operating revenue in FY24 stood at INR 5,009.8 Cr.

In contrast, Ather began the deliveries of its first escooter model, the Ather 450, in September 2018. Following that, its flagship escooter, the Ather 450X, was launched in January 2020. 

As per publicly available data, the EV startup clocked INR 35.3 Cr in operating revenue in FY20, which grew almost 9X from INR 4.2 Cr in the previous year.

Ather’s operating revenue grew to INR 79.8 Cr in FY21 and jumped further to INR 408.9 Cr in FY22.

In FY23, Ather’s top line zoomed over 4X YoY to INR 1,780.9 Cr. However, due to a decrease in FAME-II subsidy, its operating revenue fell to INR 1,753 Cr in the last fiscal year (FY24).

It is pertinent to note that during this time, Ather also launched a few new vehicle models. Ather 450S was launched in August 2023, followed by its top-of-the-range escooter, the Ather 450 Apex, in January 2024.

As we reported earlier, Ather chose a patient approach in developing its technology and building distinguishable designs. While this helped the startup make a name for itself in the initial years of EV adoption, the game changed after 2020. With the Centre promoting adoption of EVs via the FAME scheme subsidies, several competitors raced ahead of Ather.

In fact, for several months in 2022, Ola Electric, which led the charts in terms of monthly EV sales, was followed by the likes of Okinawa Autotech, Hero Electric, and Ampere in terms of sales. However, some of these players were later found guilty of availing FAME-II subsidies in violation of the norms and saw a sharp decline in their sales. This could have been an opportunity for Ather to ramp up its sales, but it started facing strong competition from legacy automotive market leaders TVS Motors and Bajaj Auto.

While Ola Electric maintained its top position in terms of sales, with 21% market share in FY23 and 34.8% in FY24, Ather was overtaken by TVS Motors and Bajaj Auto.

The stark difference of over INR 3,000 Cr between Ola Electric and Ather’s top lines in FY24 is a direct reflection of the tepid rise in Ather’s sales over the last few years compared to Ola Electric’s.

For instance, in September 2022, Ola Electric was doing monthly sales of around 9K-10K escooters while Ather’s numbers stood at 5K-6K units around that time. A year after that, Ola Electric managed to increase its monthly sales to over 18K units in September 2023 while Ather’s numbers stood at 6K-7K units.

Cut to 2024, Ather’s vehicle registrations in August stood at around 10,902 units and Ola Electric’s at 27,547 units. 

Can Ather Catch Up With Ola Electric?

While Ola Electric’s public listing showed the investors’ appetite for EV players, it is pertinent to mention that both Ola Electric and Ather continue to be loss-making entities. While Ola Electric posted a net loss of INR 1,584.4 Cr in FY24, the loss figure for Ather stood at INR 1,059.7 Cr on a much lower revenue.

Given the public market glare, both the companies will now also feel the pressure to turn profitable, and it remains to be seen if they make any changes to their strategies to achieve this.

For now, Ola Electric is also facing intense competition and has decided to continue with its strategy of new launches and network expansion to guard its turf.

While Ather is planning to foray into the emotorcycle segment, Ola Electric has already launched its motorcycle portfolio, Roadster Series, with deliveries expected to begin in the first quarter of 2025.

However, the rising competition has impacted Ola Electric’s market share as well in recent months. In August, its market share slipped to around 31% from 39% in July. On the other hand, Ather’s market share increased to around 12% from 9% in July.

This provides an opportunity for Ather to speed up product development and increase its sales using the proceeds from the IPO to reduce the difference with Ola Electric in terms of market share. Having built its tech capabilities, the Hero MotoCorp-backed startup plans to use the funds raised from the IPO to build its upcoming manufacturing facility in Maharashtra.

In its DRHP, Ather said it plans to use INR 927.2 Cr raised from the IPO for building its electric two-wheeler factory and INR 750 Cr for scaling up its R&D.

Further, with FAME-II subsidy issues almost over and the Centre launching a new demand incentive scheme, the path seems to be clear for Ather to take aggressive bets to increase its market share. 

With EV adoption on the rise in the country, there are ample opportunities for all EV players. Only time will tell if Ather can match or get ahead of Ola Electric in terms of market share, or if the legacy players like Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor will establish their supremacy in the EV market as well.

[Edited By Vinaykumar Rai] 

The post Ather Energy Vs Ola Electric: Decoding The Numbers Behind The EV Giants appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Following Zepto’s path, IPO-bound food delivery major Swiggy has launched ‘Cafe’ to deliver snacks and beverages in 15 minutes.

The option is currently available in a few localities in Bengaluru. 

Swiggy Cafe has curated a few beverage options such as coffee, milkshakes, and protein bars from brands like Blue Tokai and The Whole Truth under the new offering. Meanwhile, there are also some snacks and fries available without a brand name.

Zepto Cafe, launched in 2022 and currently available in Mumbai, also has a hybrid approach, with a mix of branded pre-made food and non-branded food items. 

This is not the first time that Swiggy is experimenting with quick deliveries of snacks. Back in 2015, the startup tied up with a few cloud kitchens in Bengaluru to offer 15-minute delivery services. In early 2023, Swiggy Instamart piloted Instacafe to deliver pre-made food and snacks along with groceries through its dark stores in certain pockets of Bengaluru. 

However, the new Cafe option is available under the food delivery option on the Swiggy app and not under Instamart. The new offering seems to be in the pilot stage. An email sent to Swiggy seeking details about Cafe didn’t elicit any response till the time of publishing this story. 

The development comes at a time when Swiggy is preparing for its IPO. As per a recent report, the food delivery and quick commerce startup plans to get shareholders’ approval to raise INR 5,000 Cr through fresh issuance of shares in its IPO as against previously planned amount of INR 3,750 Cr.

Swiggy is also said to be targeting a valuation of $15 Bn for the IPO. It was last valued at $10.7 Bn.

Besides, it also continues to be a loss-making entity. Swiggy’s revenue grew 36% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 11,247 Cr in FY24 while net loss narrowed 44% YoY to INR 2,350 Cr. 

Last week, Inc42 reported that Swiggy is also piloting a large order fleet in the Delhi NCR region. Besides, the startup also launched several new features on its app recently, including a group ordering option and ‘incognito mode’ for private ordering.

Pertinent to note that besides Swiggy, Zomato has also tried its hand at quick deliveries of snacks in the past with ‘Zomato Instant’. Besides, Swish also launched its 10-minute food delivery service last month. The startup delivers a range of fast food offerings in 10 to 15 minutes via its app in select locations of Bengaluru.

The post Exclusive: Swiggy Launches ‘Cafe’ To Deliver Snacks, Beverages In 15 Minutes appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Electric two-wheeler maker Warivo Motor India has entered the high-speed electric scooter category with the launch of CRX, which has a top speed of 55 km per hour.

In a statement on Friday (September 13), Warivo said that the price of its first high-speed escooter model CRX starts at INR 79,999 and it is available in five colours, combining safety, performance, and affordability. The vehicles come with advanced waterproof, fireproof, and blast-proof batteries, the EV maker claimed.

CRX offers two riding modes, Eco and Power, to cater to different riding styles and preferences. With four temperature sensors and a robust battery management system (BMS), the scooter is equipped to prevent overheating and detect potential issues before they arise, it added. 

Besides, ClimaCool technology would ensure CRX’s long-lasting battery performance. The scooter’s durability is certified by the UL 2271 standard, Warivo said.

“Our mission has always been to provide safe, sustainable, and affordable transportation for everyone, and the CRX perfectly encapsulates this vision. It’s designed to be a versatile ride, truly fitting for anyone and everyone,” said Rajeev Goel, director of Warivo, speaking at the launch event.

Founded in 2018, Delhi NCR-based Warivo so far sold low-speed scooters. 

As per Vahan data, the electric two-wheeler startup’s vehicle registrations stand at 24 in 2024 so far. However, this number most likely refers to Warivo’s ZB escooter, which has the highest speed of 45 km per hour. 

Warivo Motor India CEO Shammi Sharma told PTI that the startup’s sales of low-speed scooters have been averaging around 2,000 units per month.

Meanwhile, Goel told the news agency that Warivo is eyeing INR 120 Cr revenue in FY25 as compared to INR 62 Cr in FY24.

Warivo’s entry into the high-speed escooter segment comes on the heels of the Indian government announcing a new demand incentive scheme for EVs with an INR 10,900 Cr outlay. So far, the industry was eagerly waiting for the announcement of a new incentive scheme after the end of FAME-II in March this year, which became a major bottleneck for this industry’s growth.

The post Warivo Motor Enters High-Speed Escooter Market With Launch Of CRX appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Kotak Institutional Equities downgraded beauty and fashion ecommerce major Nykaa to ‘sell’ from a previous ‘add’ rating while lowering the fair value to INR 190 from INR 195 earlier.

The brokerage said Nykaa might witness higher fulfillment costs due to quicker deliveries, adversely impacting its EBITDA margin. 

“Already, it is making efforts to extend same-day/next-day delivery across 63 cities; this may need to become even faster in the current quick commerce-driven delivery environment. We trim our FY2025-27 EBITDA estimates by 3-7%, as we model lower margins in BPC and eB2B,” said Kotak analysts.

Shares of Nykaa, which fell in two previous consecutive sessions this week, fell almost 2% during the intraday trading sessions today (September 12). By 1.15 PM IST, Nykaa shares were trading 1.9% lower at INR 207.7 on the BSE.

Despite its slightly negative view, Kotak also noted that Nykaa’s wider assortment, content-based marketing and increasing personalisation will help the company counter the increasing assortment and city reach of quick commerce companies.

“ …we believe Nykaa’s discovery-driven BPC experience remains differentiated,” the analysts said. 

Kotak expects Nykaa to continue adding to its already large SKU count, curating better offerings for customers and utilising its longer customer history to offer superior recommendations and content.

“A detailed analysis of BPC product offerings on quick commerce platforms reveals that the assortment in a few key categories is increasing on these platforms. Overall, we found these platforms carry 4-8% of the number of SKUs available on Nykaa’s platform across categories such as colour cosmetics, skincare, haircare, bath and body. The overall difference in assortment is still stark, with our analysis totalling to about 76K SKUs for Nykaa across these categories compared with 4-6K SKUs for quick-commerce,” said Kotak.

In the last reported quarter, Q1 FY25, the GMV of Nykaa’s BPC business rose 28% YoY to INR 2,542.9 Cr. Its total GMV stood at INR 3,320.9 Cr in the quarter.

The company’s EBITDA margin stood at 5.5%, which grew 34 basis points YoY.

Nykaa posted a net profit of INR 13.6 Cr on an operating revenue of INR 1,746.1 Cr in Q1.

The post Kotak Downgrades Nykaa To ‘Sell’ Amid Co’s Push For Faster Deliveries appeared first on Inc42 Media.

As part of the Centre’s push for promoting electric mobility, the union cabinet has approved the ‘PM-eBus Sewa-Payment Security Mechanism (PSM) scheme’ with an outlay of INR 3,435.33 Cr for procurement and operation of ebuses by public transport authorities (PTAs).

The scheme aims to support the deployment of over 38,000 ebuses during FY25-FY29 period. 

In a statement, the government said that the scheme will support the operation of ebuses for a period of up to 12 years from the date of deployment.

The statement said that a majority of the buses operated by PTAs currently run on diesel/CNG. While ebuses are environmentally friendly and have lower operational costs, the high upfront cost and lower realisation of revenue from operations could make it challenging for PTAs to procure and operate ebuses.

“To address the high capital cost of ebuses, public transport authorities (PTAs) induct these buses through public private partnership on Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model. The PTAs are not required to pay the upfront cost of the bus under the GCC model, instead OEMs/operators procure and operate ebuses for PTAs with monthly payments. However, OEMs/operators are hesitant to engage in this model due to concerns about potential payment defaults,” the statement added. 

The new scheme aims to address this concern by ensuring timely payments to OEMs/operators through a dedicated fund. 

In case of any default in payments by the PTAs, the implementing agency, Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), would make the necessary payments from the funds under the new scheme, which could be later recouped by the PTAs and states and union territories.

Besides the PSM scheme, the Cabinet also approved the much-awaited FAME-III scheme, albeit with a different name — PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) Scheme. 

The new scheme to boost EV adoption has a total outlay of INR 10,900 Cr. Over the next two years, the scheme aims to support 24.79 Lakh electric two-wheelers, 3.16 Lakh electric three-wheelers, and 14,028 ebuses via demand incentives. 

Besides, the scheme has also set aside various amounts for the installation of public charging stations, deployment of etrucks and eambulances, among others.

The post Cabinet Approves PSM Scheme With INR 3,435 Cr Outlay To Promote Adoption Of Ebuses appeared first on Inc42 Media.

India’s flourishing tech landscape is no longer the sole domain of elite business school graduates. The past decade has seen celebrities capitalise on the growth of the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem. 

Leading the pack are imminent names like Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt, who are founding startups, particularly in the booming omnichannel D2C space. Even cricketers are joining the game, with established ventures from MS Dhoni and Deepak Chahar’s recent launch of a fantasy gaming platform.

Celebrities are actively building businesses, embracing the core principles of entrepreneurship and investing heavily. The year 2023 witnessed a record year for celebrity investors, with Inc42 reporting over 19 personalities infusing capital into 26 startups, including prominent figures like Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty.

At a time when angel investment is on the rise, let’s steal a glance at the list of Indian celebrity founders who’ve become the talk of the Indian startup town in recent years.

Note: This is not an exhaustive list or ranking of any kind.

1. Alia Bhatt

An avid startup investor, Alia Bhatt solidified her footprint in the Indian startup ecosystem with the launch of Ed-a-Mamma, a kidswear D2C brand, in 2020.

Unlike most celebrity brands, which are either co-created or have a revenue-sharing model, Ed-a-Mamma was initially fully funded by Bhatt.

The startup has been operating on an omnichannel model, selling across ecommerce platforms, its website, and offline retail chains, including Lifestyle and Shoppers’ Stop. In September 2023, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) acquired a majority stake in Ed-a-Mamma.

Besides her entrepreneurial journey with Ed-a-Mamma, as an investor, Bhatt’s startup portfolio includes the personal styling platform Style Cracker and biomaterial startup Phool. She also has investments in beauty and fashion ecommerce major Nykaa. 

2. Deepak Chahar

Indian cricketer Deepak Chahar announced his entry into the Indian startup space with the launch of a fantasy gaming platform, Trade Fantasy Game (TFG), in February 2023. The startup, cofounded by Jaya Chahar (Deepak’s wife), was incorporated with an internal investment of INR 10 Cr in March 2022.

The parent entity of TFG, JCDC Sports Pvt Ltd, offers a premium experience of playing collectable and card-based fantasy games on its platform. At the time of its launch, TFG aimed to foster 1 Mn users by FY24 and generate revenues of INR 18 Cr by FY25.

It is pertinent to note that the Chahars are trying to make waves in the Indian fantasy gaming arena dominated by the likes of Dream11, Mobile Premier League (MPL) and others. 

In addition, the cricketer owns a D2C sportswear brand DNINE Sports. Launched in September 2023 with an investment of INR 2.5 Cr. The brand sells sports apparel, shoes, accessories, and dietary supplements via its website. Chahar and his father Lokendra Singh Chahar serve as the cofounders of the brand. 

3. Deepika Padukone

Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone entered the Indian startup ecosystem as an investor. Spacetech startup Bellatrix Aerospace and electric rise-hailing platform Blusmart have been able to lap up Padukone’s interest.

Taking the entrepreneurial leap of faith, Padukone founded personal care brand 82°E, along with Jigar Shah, in 2021. 

The D2C brand was launched in November 2022 with a core focus on skincare products. Currently, 82°E has products in skincare and fosters a separate personal care line for men (82°E Man).

In December 2022, the startup raised $7.5 Mn in seed funding from DSG Consumer Partners and IDEO Ventures, along with multiple ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNIs) and Padukone’s family office. 82°E is now raising around $6 Mn as a part of its extended seed funding round with Deepika Padukone and her father Prakash Padukone’s investment entity, Ka Enterprises, increasing its stake in the startup.

Meanwhile, Padukone has also increased her investment portfolio with startups like Epigamia, Furlenco, Atomberg, Mokobara, and Nua. 

4. Hrithik Roshan 

The actor turned into an entrepreneur in 2013 with the launch of his lifestyle brand HRX, which sells a range of products, including sportswear, footwear, casualwear, and accessories for men and women. In 2016, Flipkart-owned Myntra bought a 51% stake in HRX.

With time, HRX has diversified into selling gym equipment and wearables. In 2017, the brand joined hands with Cult.fit (which is now a fitness unicorn) and launched the first-ever celebrity-designed HRX workout regime across Cult centres in India.

5. Katrina Kaif

Bollywood actress and model Katrina Kaif forayed into the beauty and personal care space with the launch of makeup brand Kay Beauty in 2019.  

Striking the right balance between glamour and skincare, the brand sells products like hydrating foundation, creme blush, liquid highlighter, and lip oil gloss, among other beauty products. 

Following the launch of the brand, Kaif also infused an undisclosed amount in Nykaa through a secondary transaction in 2020. With the investment, Kay Beauty became an in-house brand of the listed beauty and personal care major. 

Now, Nykaa owns a 51% stake in Kay Beauty. Recently, at the Startup Mahakumbh, Nykaa’s founder Falguni Nayar said that the company was expecting to generate INR 200 Cr from Kay Beauty in FY24. 

6. Kriti Sanon

Kriti Sanon joined the startup bandwagon by cofounding fitness brand ‘The Tribe’ in 2022, along with Anushka Nandani, Karan Sawhney and Robin Behl

The Tribe offers virtual and ‘in-studio’ products including training workshops and tailor-made nutrition plans.

Last year, Sanon also joined hands with PEP Technologies, the parent company of mCaffeine, to launch skincare brand Hyphen. 

Hyphen offers 21 SKUs for comprehensive facial care, including cleansers, moisturisers, serums, sunscreens, lip balms and anti-pigmentation products. The startup claims to have clocked INR 14 Cr in FY24 and INR 100 Cr in annualised gross sales in July 2024.

7. MS Dhoni

Former Indian cricket team Indian cricketer MS Dhoni is the brand ambassador and partial owner of the lifestyle brand SEVEN. The brand was launched in 2016 by RS Seven Lifestyle (P) Ltd, which is a part of Rhiti Group.

Apart from this, Dhoni is also a big-time startup investor. He has investments in more than eight Indian startups. Some of the noteworthy startups in his investment portfolio include Tagda Raho, Rigi, Shaka Harry, Garuda, HomeLane, 7ink Brews, Khatabook and Cars24. In 2012, Dhoni also started a gym chain in India, SportsFit World Pvt Ltd.

More recently, in April 2024, EV Startup EMotorad roped in Dhoni as an equity investor. Founded in 2020, EMotorad sells electric cycles for daily commuting and casual rides. It aims to offer travel alternatives through premium electric cycles and promote a healthier lifestyle. Apart from having his investment in the startup, Dhoni is also the brand ambassador of EMotorad. 

8. Preity Zinta

The iconic Bollywood actor began her entrepreneurial journey in 2008 as a co-owner of Indian Premier League (IPL) team Punjab Kings.

Despite being on a long acting career break, Preity Zinta shined as an entrepreneur with the growing popularity of IPL. 

Most recently, Zinta gave a new boost to her entrepreneurial career by signing up as a cofounder of a member-based gym facility DRIVE FITT. Cofounded by Zinta, along with cricketer Shubman Gill, and Australian businessmen Mark Sellar and Deke Smith, DRIVE FITT aims to provide cricket training facilities. It will offer high-tech bowling machines, yoga studios, comprehensive strength, conditioning, and cardio training with gym amenities.

DRIVE FITT plans to open its flagship facility later this year.

9. Priyanka Chopra Jonas

Indian actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas launched her haircare brand named Anomaly in 2021 starting with the US market. Anomaly’s range of products, including dry shampoos, shampoos, hair masks and conditioners, was first available across US-based retail giant Target’s online and offline stores.

In 2022, Nykaa tapped Anomaly for an exclusive launch of its products in India. Currently, the brand’s products are available across Nykaa, Amazon, and Flipkart.

Jonas has also been an investor for a long time. In 2018, she had invested in two US-based startups – Holberton School and dating app Bumble. 

10. Rakul Preet Singh

Indian actress Rakul Preet Singh forayed into the Indian startup space in 2021 when she launched a LinkedIn-like talent discovery platform, Starring You, along with her brother Aman Preet Singh. 

With the app, the actress aims to bridge the gap between aspiring talent and talent hunters in the entertainment field. The app has over 10,000 downloads on Google’s Play Store.

After making her first entrepreneurial leap with Starring You, Singh focussed on a vertical outside of the entertainment business for her next endeavour.

With an aim to make baby care safe, effective and ecological, she joined hands with Shreya Chadalavada and Jahnavi Reddy Dorigallu to launch D2C startup NewBoo in 2023. The brand sells reusable baby diapers that use soft material and are liquid absorbent. 

Besides, the actress invested in Wellbeing Nutrition in 2022. She is also the startup’s brand ambassador. 

11. Rana Daggubati

Actor Rana Daggubati, who gained nationwide fame after the meteoric success of the movie ‘Bahubali’, is an active investor in the startup ecosystem. Besides having a stake in startups like the Ghost Kitchen, the actor also dawned the entrepreneurial hat in 2021, when he ventured into the then-blooming Metaverse and NFT space to start IKONZ. He partnered with Abinav Varma Kalidindi to launch the startup.

In 2022, IKONZ raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from early-stage VC firm Village Global, which is backed by the life of Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and technology investment firm Woodstock.

The platform helps IP owners and artists in the space monetise their digital assets by providing access to crypto communities worldwide. Since its inception, the startup has collaborated with brands like Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle to bring entertainment IPs to the metaverse. 

Besides this, he also set up a fan engagement startup Socialswag with actor Akshay Kumar as his cofounder. The startup offers a skill and talent development platform with celebrity-led courses. Soon after the launch in April 2021, Socialswag bagged close to $1 Mn in its seed funding round from multiple angel investors.

12. Ranveer Singh 

Actor Ranveer Singh became one of the cofounders of D2C sexual wellness startup Bold Care after he invested an undisclosed amount in the startup in December 2023. Singh is also the face of the brand. 

Apart from Bold Care, the actor also serves as an investor for other startups. He recently invested in Aman Gupta’s bOAt and Vineeta Singh’s D2C brand Sugar Cosmetics in 2022. 

13. Samantha Ruth Prabhu

Samantha Ruth Prabhu, a well-known figure in the South Indian movie industry, began her entrepreneurial journey even before she gained fame as a leading actress in multiple Bollywood films. Her involvement in the Indian startup ecosystem started in September 2020, when she partnered with former Miss India contestant Sushruthi Krishna to launch the D2C fashion and lifestyle brand Saaki.

Saaki specialises in Indian women’s fashion, including kurtas and sarees. Prabhu serves as the cofounder and ‘chief style editor’ for the brand, which competes with other well-known names such as BIBA, Indya, Fabindia, Nykaa Fashion, and various D2C fashion brands.

In addition to her role at Saaki, Prabhu is also an investor in the ecommerce marketplace SustainKart and the D2C superfoods brand Nourish You.

14. Shraddha Kapoor 

From donning heavy jewellery onscreen to taking up the cofounder office in a prominent jewellery startup, actress Shraddha Kapoor took the entrepreneurial leap of faith earlier this year. 

Pune-based jewellery startup Palmonas roped in Kapoor as its new cofounder in March 2024. Incorporated by Pallavi Mohadikar and Amol Patwari in 2021, the startup sells affordable premium quality jewellery to their users. 

Their range of jewellery options, including necklaces, rings, bracelets, and earrings, are priced between INR 800 and INR 5,500 and sold with a one-year warranty.

It is pertinent to note that Kapoor made headlines last year when she appeared in a TV commercial of Melorra, which is Palmonas competitor in the jewellery space. Post this, Kapoor commented on one of Palmonas’ posts on Instagram and said she “was just blown away by their products”.

With Kapoor on board, Palmonas’ founders aim to leverage her popularity to expand the reach. The startup has launched a collection called Shraddha’s Stack, which includes necklaces, rings, and earrings. 

This isn’t Kapoor’s first jaunt in the Indian startup ecosystem though. She turned into an investor for beauty commerce unicorn The Good Glamm Group in 2021. She also invested in startups Shunya and Chargeup in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

15. Sonu Sood

Having garnered a reputation for being an accomplished actor as well as a philanthropist, Sonu Sood is also well known for his entrepreneurial ventures outside of the spotlight. Sood launched Pravasi Rojgar, a job portal for migrant workers, in collaboration with Schoolnet India in July 2020. 

The aim to help millions of migrant workers find jobs & a steady source of income. The startup also trains workers with the requisite skills to increase their chances of obtaining good jobs. The startup secured INR 250 Cr in funding from Temasek Holding-backed Goodworker.

Apart from Pravasi Rojgar, Sood launched an AI-enabled social media app Explurger in 2022. Explurger, which is a freemium app, helps users interact with their friends and family. It creates automatic travelogues using artificial intelligence (AI), gamifies the user experience, and rewards users for being socially active on the app. Earlier this year, the startup raised $4.5 Mn in its Series A funding round led by Affle (India) Ltd. 

Apart from his entrepreneurial ventures, Sood also turned an investor in 2020. Through his company Sood Informatics LLP (SIL), he purchased over 8.69 Lakh shares of rural fintech firm Spice Money at a price of INR 10 per share. With the investment, he turned brand ambassador and a non-executive board member for the startup.

The post From Investors To Office Bearers: Meet The Indian Celebrities Winning The Indian Startup Game appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In a big boost to India’s fast-growing semiconductor industry, tech giant Apple is reportedly mulling using made-in-India chips for the iPhones produced in the country.

Apple is in talks with Micron, the Tata Group, and other chip manufacturers setting up plants in India to source supplies worth $12 Bn for the India-produced iPhones, Financial Express reported citing sources.

If Micron and Tata Group’s units manufacture the grades needed by Apple, the bulk of the chip needed for iPhones would be sourced from these firms, creating a huge business opportunity, a source was quoted as saying by the publication.

The source also noted that no single company would be able to rival Apple’s spend on microchips made in India despite demand from buyers for these chips from the defence, aviation and auto sectors.

Following the launch of the production-linked incentive scheme to boost semiconductor production in the country, US-based chip manufacturer Micron received approval from the cabinet ministry in June 2023 to set up a semiconductor unit in Gujarat. This year, Tata Electronics also received the Centre’s approval to set up a semiconductor fab in Dholera, Gujarat in partnership with Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC), Taiwan.

Tata is also setting up a second semiconductor unit in Morigaon, Assam.

Meanwhile, Apple is one of the top buyers of semiconductor chips in the world. Leading chip manufacturer Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) got 26% of its total revenue from Apple alone in 2021. As per reports, Apple was also responsible for 23% of TSMC’s revenue in 2022.

Meanwhile, Apple is gradually increasing the production of iPhones in India. As per the Economic Survey 2023-24, India contributed about 14% to Apple’s overall production in FY24. Contract manufacturers Foxconn, Wistron (now owned by Tata Group) and Pegatron cumulatively produced iPhones worth INR 1.2 Lakh Cr in the country in FY24. Of this, INR 85,000 Cr worth of devices were exported.

Apple will also manufacture the latest iPhone 16 series in India and the made-in-India phones would be available across the world within the first few days of the launch of the smartphones.

Earlier this year, Apple was also said to be in discussions with Murugappa Group and Tata Group’s Titan to assemble and possibly manufacture sub-components for iPhone camera modules.

As per Inc42’s analysis, India’s semiconductor market is expected to clock a 24% CAGR and reach a size of $150 Bn by 2030 from $33 Bn in 2023. 

The post Apple To Source Tata, Micron’s Made-In-India Chips For Its iPhones appeared first on Inc42 Media.