Kazam, an electric mobility software platform for charge-point operators, fleet operators and electricity grid management, on Wednesday said it has raised USD 3.6 million in an investment round led by Avaana Climate Fund.
Other investors in the round, dubbed Series A, include Third Derivative and existing investors Inflection Point Ventures and We Founder Circle.
With over 7,000 charging points under management, Kazam’s immediate plan is to integrate 60,000 charging and swapping stations with its operating system in the next 14-15 months, it said in the statement.
The Bengaluru-based startup added that it also plans to expand further in international markets such as the United States, where it currently has partnerships with two charge-point operators managing 3,000 vehicles.
In India, it enables over 60 charge-point operators, including large e-commerce companies, 2-wheeler original equipment manufacturers, and third-party logistics companies.
“The funds will be used to extend offerings of the platform to its existing customers by investing in technology and product teams. The funds will also allow us to maintain our market leadership position in the e-mobility software segment,” said founder and CEO Akshay Shekhar. Shekhar told ET that the company plans to grow from 75 to about 140 staffers with the funding in place.
Kazam was founded by Shekhar and Vaibhav Tyagi in 2021. Its business has grown to managing 150,000 kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity per month. The company has international clients in the United States, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Its software is used by a range of vehicles, including two-wheelers, commercial EV three-wheelers and city buses for local transport.
The global EV charging infrastructure market is expected to grow exponentially from $7.7 billion in 2020 to $27.7 billion by 2025, at a growth rate of 29.4%, the statement added. “Kazam’s hardware-agnostic capabilities position it well to capitalise on the growing demand for EVs in India as well as globally. We are confident that with Kazam’s ability to drive data-led intelligence to grid, fuelling and fleet operations, it will play a leading role in democratising access to EV,” said Swapna Gupta, Partner at Avaana Climate Fund.
Avaana Capital manages the Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund, a climate-tech venture capital fund investing in climate mitigation, adaptation and resilience across areas such as energy transition and resource management, mobility and supply chains, and sustainable agriculture and food systems.
