Chennai: Pi Beam Labs, a maker of electric utility vehicles for the micro-mobility market, and a startup incubated at IIT-Madras’ Incubation Cell has raised an undisclosed amount of pre-Series A funding from Eagle10 Ventures, Bluehill Capital, and other high net-worth individuals.
The company, which counts IIT-Madras professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala among its mentors, plans to deploy the capital to expand its core team, launch new product development initiatives, and ramp up its sales efforts.
Visakh Sasikumar, founder and CEO, Pi beam said the startup will be soon moving to a new 7,000 square feet facility in OMR from its current 2,000+ square feet assembly unit in Guindy, in line with the above goals.
Founded by Sasikumar, Pi Beam offers pedal-assisted, solar and electric trikes (vehicles with three wheels) for logistics and passenger movements.
The three variants of the company’s trikes are already in the market with the startup having sold close to 160 such vehicles since it commenced commercial operations in 2018.
Currently, the startup works with public sector undertakings on last-mile delivery of gas cylinders and with municipal corporations as a use case for garbage collections.
“Pi Beam is not just a three-wheeler maker, and we are currently looking beyond at the micro-mobility market, working on products like e- rickshaws, electric carts, and others,” Sasikumar, an industrial engineer from College of Engineering, Trivandrum, said.
“We are looking to capitalize on new government initiatives including FAME,” he added. The company is also in talks with third party logistics companies to develop solutions to cater to the growing demand for last mile connectivity in e-commerce, and also hopes to engage with ride hailing companies on their sustainability initiatives.
“Pi Beam offers unique and utility focused electric vehicle products for last mile delivery and commute. Given the opportunity and timing of this product in today’s market needs, we are super excited to join hands in their journey,” Pramod D’Souza, co-founder, Eagle10 Ventures, said.