Hyderabad-based electric vehicle startup Cellestial E-Mobility Pvt. Ltd has raised $200,000 (Rs 1.37 crore at current exchange rates) in an angel funding round.
The company, which seeks to roll out the first prototype of an electric tractor, said in a statement it raised the funding from Singapore-based non-resident Indian Meka Sudhakar Reddy.
Siddhartha Durairajan, founder of Cellestial, said the company is developing electric tractors with a long battery life. It can be used for multiple purposes, including horticultural and greenhouse-related jobs, and moving goods within factories and airports.
The company says it has a capacity to build 100 heavy vehicles, and can manufacture more if consumption of its product grows.
The EV segment has drawn a lot of attention from startups and bigger corporate houses.
Earlier this month, ride-hailing company Ola’s electric mobility arm raised Rs 1,725 crore (around $250 million) from Japanese investor SoftBank in a Series B funding round. The round valued Ola Electric Mobility Pvt. Ltd at around $1 billion.
The central government has also announced initiatives aimed at promoting the EV segment. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the budget earlier this month that the government would provide an income-tax deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh on the interest paid on loans taken to purchase electric vehicles, and also reduce the customs duty on certain parts.
