Battery-swapping network for electric vehicles, Battery Smart run by Upgrid Solutions Pvt. Ltd has raised $25 million (around ₹192.5 crore) in its Series A funding round led by Tiger Global.
The round saw participation from existing investors Blume Ventures and Orios Ventures.
The fresh funds will be used for geographical expansion, strengthening battery assignment technology and building a team to continue scaling operations, the company said in a statement.
“Battery swapping has incredible potential to fast-track the country’s EV adoption, as it solves major deterrents like range anxiety, high up-front costs, and long charging downtimes. With this investment, we are focused on bringing our offerings to even more EV users pan-India, by increasing the number of Swap Stations and continuing to partner with OEMs and fleet operators. We are also looking to strengthen our technology for effective network planning and make key hires in our growing team,” said Pulkit Khurana, co-founder, Battery Smart.
Battery Smart was set up in 2019 by IIT-Kanpur alumni Khurana and Siddharth Sikka, who have worked with companies including Shuttl, Schlumberger and Opera Solutions. Battery Smart’s battery-as-a-service model enables interoperable battery swapping for EVs in under two minutes and reduces the up-front investment borne by a consumer by up to 60%, the company said.
The company has completed over 2.5 million battery swaps and powered 80 million emission-free kilometres, it said.
In November 2021, Battery Smart raised $7 million in a pre-series A round led by Blume Ventures and Orios Ventures, along with notable angel investors.
The electric mobility space in India is witnessing significant traction even as startups struggle to attract investment amid a prevailing funding winter.
On 23 June EV charging network startup Statiq raised $25.7 million (over ₹200 crore) in a funding round led by Shell Ventures.
On 24 June, electric mobility and energy storage-focused startup, Matter raised $10 million in its first round of funding from Info Edge’s Capital 2B Fund 1, Climate Angel Fund, among others.
Notably, the Indian EV space has seen interest from multiple West Asian players in the last couple of months. Earlier in June, Dubai-based META4 Group said it will invest Rs 250 crore to set up an electric vehicle plant in the southern state of Telangana, marking its foray into the green mobility space in the country.
Similarly, Saudi Arabia-based global investor Abdul Latif Jameel committed to invest up to $220 million (around Rs 1,700 crore) in a 2-3-wheeler mobility company, Greaves Electric Mobility.
Bengaluru-based Ather Energy has also initiated discussions with investment banks, mulling possibilities of an initial public offering (IPO) in the near future, VCCircle had reported.
In May, 2-wheeler mobility startup eBikeGo said it had marked the final close of its pre-Series A funding of $5 million, again backed by multiple West Asian investors.