Indian electric ride-hailing startup BluSmart on Thursday said it has raised $24 million (Rs 200 crore) in a new equity round, which saw participation from existing investors, founders and the leadership team.
While the company did not disclose the name of investors participating in the latest funding, it has previously been backed by investors including BP Ventures, Survam Partners, Sanjiv Bajaj, 9Unicorns, Stride Ventures, Alteria Capital, BlackSoil, Ka Innovations LLP, the family office of Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone.
BluSmart, which is seeking to challenge Uber and Ola for market share in the country with its EV ride-hailing service and EV Charging Infrastructure network, aims to use the funds raised to build large-scale EV Charging Superhubs enabling the expansion of its electric ride-hailing service.
The company currently has over 5,500 BluSmart EVs on Indian roads and over 4,000 BluSmart EV Chargers, across 34 BluSmart EV Charging Superhubs. By next year, BluSmart aims to scale to nearly 8,000 EVs fleet across Delhi NCR and Bangalore.
In a previous interview with Financial Express, BluSmart said that it was aiming to touch profitability by the end of 2023. When asked about the update on the profitability timeline of the firm, a representative of the company declined to comment.
It, however, claims to have crossed $50 million in annual revenue run-rate.
As of Feb, the company had a valuation of $109 million, according to Tracxn. The company declined to comment on its valuation.
The latest funding round comes more than six months after the firm raised $42 million in a mix of $37 million in equity and $5 million in debt, led by the company’s founders and leadership team.
The company said it has also secured long-term and sustainable EV asset financing of $200 million backed by Development Financial Institutions (DFIs).
Earlier, the firm had also raised $25 million—$15 million in equity and venture debt of $10 million—in an extended Series A.
BluSmart’s funding is the most recent example of rising investor interest in the EV market in India. The space in India has been buzzing with many startups such as Ather Energy, Exponent Energy, Altigreen, Ola Electric, BOLT, and Baaz Bikes raising funds from a host of investors including corporate VCs and automakers.
Given the rise in petrol and diesel prices in India and awareness about the environment, more consumers are opting for electric vehicles.
Mass EV adoption, however, faces a huge challenge in the area of battery-charging technology and infrastructure. Automakers and auto part makers such as Exponent Energy, have been trying to address this concern by swapping batteries and building charging stations.
EV charging infrastructure is the biggest bottleneck for large-scale EV adoption and is also the single largest opportunity. Cities have challenges with finite prime locations and a lack of adequate power load, Tushar Gard, CEO of BluSmart Charging business, said in a statement.