NEW DELHI :
Battery Smart, India’s largest and fastest-growing battery swapping network for electric vehicles, today announced that it raised a Pre-Series A round of $7 million. The funding round was led by Blume Ventures and Orios Ventures, along with investments from Green Frontier Capital, Baring Private Equity India, and notable angels like Srinivas Anumolu (Founder - Elance, TutorVista, Bigbasket, Bluestone), K Ganesh (Serial Entrepreneur & Partner - GrowthStory.in), Niraj Singh, (Founder & CEO - Spinny), and Amit Bhasin (Co-Founder - GoMechanic). TradeCred, India’s leading alternative debt platform, also participated as a debt partner with an INR 24 crore investment.
Battery Smart’s battery-as-a-service model enables interoperable battery swapping for electric vehicles (EVs) in under two minutes and reduces the up-front investment borne by a consumer by up to 60%. With over 100 Swap Stations operational in the Delhi NCR region, the company has completed 3 lakh battery swaps and powered 10 million emission-free kms to date. The funds will be utilised to strengthen its Battery Assignment Technology, scale its operations to service 10,000 electric vehicles daily, and expand to three new states by FY22.
“Given the excellent product-market fit for Battery Smart in the e-Rickshaw and fleet segment, we believe that the right player to win the market will be the one who is able to expand the fastest. After the COVID second wave, Battery Smart has grown more than 10x and continues to grow at a very rapid pace to currently service more than 1000 electric two and three-wheelers daily. We are excited to be a partner in the journey of Pulkit and Siddharth as they make adoption of electric mobility even more simple, economic, and accessible,” said Arpit Agarwal, Director, Blume Ventures.
“Battery swapping addresses major deterrents to EV adoption like range anxiety, high up-front costs, and long downtimes. The funds raised will help us expand our presence pan-India, strengthen our technology, and make key hires,” said Pulkit Khurana, Co-Founder of Battery Smart.
“The Battery Smart team has demonstrated that they can create not only a capital-efficient, profitable business model but also deliver large scale ESG impact in the country. This is a rare achievement that very few businesses can claim at this time,” said Anup Jain, Managing Partner, Orios Ventures, when speaking on the announcement. “Their asset-light tech-enabled business model has brought down costs and increased supply in public-shared mobility for low-income consumers and, for companies using last-mile EV-based logistics. They have directly impacted an increase in incomes for bottom-of-the-pyramid 3-wheeler and 2-wheeler drivers and local small businesses. With rising fossil-fuel prices and global focus on net-zero emissions, their model helps in delivering our commitment to climate change with the lowest net-new resources added.”
“With over 2 lac EVs in just the NCR region, there is no better time to invest in India’s electric mobility revolution. We are impressed by Battery Smart’s ability to grow 100% every month, and we are keen to be a part of its fast-moving journey,” said Hardik Shah, Founder and CEO, TradeCred.
The data-driven methodology and superior battery telematics have enabled Battery Smart to grow exponentially. The IoT-enabled batteries on its network and the data generated are being utilized for effective network planning and ensuring EV users have access to two-minute swaps within a 1 km radius with zero wait time. The company currently has 1200 active vehicles on its platform and completes 5000 swaps daily.
