Shared electric two-wheeler mobility company Yulu on Friday said it has raised Rs 160 crore ($19.25 million) in equity funding from existing strategic investors Magna and Bajaj Auto Ltd.
Of this, Bajaj Auto invested Rs 45.8 crore for a 1% stake in the company. It also clarified that the investment is purely transactional and is being made on an “arm’s-length” basis. Post this investment, Bajaj Auto’s stake in Yulu stands at 18.8%. It had previously invested Rs 57.1 crore in Yulu.
The additional capital raised will enable Yulu to maintain its growth streak and strengthen its market leadership as it expands in terms of vehicles, operational locations, and product and technology innovation to keep up with the rise in demand from users, the company said in a statement.
“Yulu has seen demand speeding up in the last couple of quarters. In particular, our shared EV services have transformed the urban delivery landscape by increasing the share of green deliveries while enabling livelihoods through disruptive product features, technology-powered operations, and a superior customer experience,” said Amit Gupta, co-founder and chief executive officer of Yulu.
Yulu, which raised Rs 653 crore (close to $82 million) in its Series B funding round led by Magna in September 2022, is also on track to raise its Series C round of funding soon, Gupta added.
Founded in 2017 by Amit Gupta, Yulu provides last-mile connectivity via electric bikes. It also operates EV charging and battery swapping networks. It claims that since its inception, it has catered to 4 million users. It currently runs 30,000 EVs across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Delhi and Gurugram. It also works with delivery and logistics companies.
In the past, Yulu Bikes had bagged funds from Rocketship.vc, Blume Ventures, 3one4 Capital, Tracxn Labs and Incubate Capital Partners.
In the financial year through March 2023, Yulu posted a revenue of Rs 42.8 crore, up from Rs 30.5 crore in FY22. In FY21, the company’s revenue stood at Rs 15.9 crore.