Yuma Energy, a battery-as-a-service (BaaS) joint venture of Canadian auto component giant Magna International and Indian mobility startup Yulu, said Thursday it has acquired design startup Grinntech Motors & Services Pvt. Ltd.
The acquisition of Chennai-based Grinntech will help in building a vertically integrated BaaS ecosystem that comprises elements such as battery design and production, intelligent charging units, a multi-city swapping network, technology-driven operations, and a customer app, Yuma said in a press release. It didn't divulge any financial terms of the deal.
Bengaluru-based Yuma was founded in late 2022 as a joint venture between Magna, one of the world’s biggest auto-parts suppliers, and Yulu. The Indian startup contributed certain assets and intellectual property for a 49% interest in Yuma and Magna invested $52 million in cash for a 51% controlling interest in the joint venture.
Yuma is now looking to grow its business of battery swapping solutions for two wheelers and expand its research and development capabilities. It claims to have completed over 20 million swaps so far.
Grinntech was set up in 2013 by IIT alumni Puneet Jain and Nikhilesh Mishra. The company specialises in lithium-ion battery solutions for electric vehicles and energy storage systems. It offers fully integrated battery packs, off-the-shelf solutions, custom-engineered systems, and proprietary battery analytics.
“This acquisition is a strategic step towards bolstering our in-house expertise in battery management systems, advanced R&D, and manufacturing,” said Muthu Subramanian, managing director and general manager at Yuma Energy. “By assimilating Grinntech’s technology and manufacturing capability, we will continue to surpass industry and customer service benchmarks in performance, reliability, and safety.”
The latest acquisition comes a year after Yulu raised Rs 160 crore in equity funding from Magna and Bajaj Auto. Of that, Bajaj Auto invested Rs 45.8 crore for a 1% stake in the shared electric two-wheeler mobility company, raising its overall stake to 18.8%. It had earlier invested Rs 57.1 crore in Yulu.
Before that, in September 2022, Yulu had raised Rs 653 crore in a Series B funding round led by Magna. Yulu’s other investors include Rocketship.vc, Blume Ventures, 3one4 Capital, Tracxn Labs and Incubate Capital Partners.
Yulu was founded in 2017 by Amit Gupta. Besides running electric vehicles, it also operates charging and battery swapping networks. It mainly operates across Bangalore, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Delhi and Gurgaon.
