[Update] BluSmart Close To Raising $250 Mn In Fresh Funding From BP Ventures, Others To Increase Fleet Size: Report

Update| July 15, 8:52 PM

BluSmart Chief Business Officer Tushar Garg confirmed the development to Inc42. Garg said a few new and big investors are also participating in the round, which is expected to close in the next few months.

Original Story | Published On July 15 at 2:17 PM

Electric ride-hailing startup BluSmart is reportedly close to raising $250 Mn from investors including BP Ventures.

BluSmart CEO Anmol Jaggi told Reuters that the startup was expecting to finalise deals with impact funds and private equity investors by the next two months.

“BP Ventures already has a stake in BluSmart and will be one of the lead investors in this round as well,” Jaggi was quoted as saying. “Most of the other funding will come from global investors based in the U.S. and Europe.”

While Jaggi did not disclose the valuation at which the fresh funds are being raised, he noted that ride-hailing companies like BluSmart are typically valued at 15X-18X their annual revenue run rate.

Inc42 has reached out to BluSmart and would update the article if there is any addition.

BluSmart plans to buy more EVs and expand its charging infrastructure using the funds. It also looks to invest more in its technology and expand the service across more Indian cities.

BP Ventures has been associated with BluSmart Series A funding round. In September last year, BP Ventures led the startup’s $25 Mn Series A funding round.

In May this year, it raised $25 Mn in its follow-on Series A (Series A1) funding round in a mix of equity and debt. The equity round was co-led by BP Ventures and Green Frontier Capital, along with its other existing investors. BluSmart’s $10 Mn debt round was from investors including Stride Ventures, BlackSoil, and Alteria Capital, among others.

Back then, BluSmart planned to utilise the funding to expand its EV Superhubs across the Delhi NCR region and add more than 5,000 electric cars to its fleet by the year-end. 

Based on all the data available, BluSmart’s total fundraising currently stands at around $59 Mn. Hence, once the $250 Mn round is closed, it would take the startup’s total fundraising amount to above $300 Mn.

Founded by Jaggi and Punit K Goyal in 2019, BluSmart offers electric mobility services, currently operating across the Delhi NCR region, it claims to have completed more than 1.6 Mn trips so far. 

As per Jaggi’s latest statement to the news agency, BluSmart currently has a total of 13,500 electric cars on order with Tata Motors. Its fleet also includes electric vehicles (EVs) from MG Motors and others.

With India trying to boost the country’s EV ecosystem and the citizens also showing an inclination towards EV adoption, Indian EV companies across segments are getting major traction from Indian as well as foreign inventors.  

Though funding in several other sectors seems to see a dip recently given various factors such as economic volatility and an impending global recession, the EV industry would not have to face any such adverse funding environment, as per industry experts. 

In fact, talking to Inc42 last month, several EV investors said they are looking at the long-term growth potential of the sector, hence, no short-term issues would majorly impact the investment decision in the EV segment.

Recently Mahindra & Mahindra also announced raising INR 1,925 Cr ($250 Mn) for its newly incorporated EV unit from British International Investment (BII) at a valuation of INR 70,070 Cr ($9.1 Bn).

Several investments in the EV segment caught our attention last month. For example, EV battery swapping startup Battery Smart closed a $25 Mn Series A funding round with participation from Tiger Global, Blume Ventures and Orios Ventures. 

Electric mobility and energy storage-focused technology startup Matter closed its $10 Mn of equity funding with investment from Info Edge’s Capital 2B Fund 1, Climate Angel Fund, and other investors.

Statiq, an EV charging infrastructure firm, raised $25.7 Mn in its Series A round led by Shell Ventures.

As per a Colliers report, India’s EV industry is expected to see investments of INR 94,000 Cr ($12.6 Bn) across the automotive value chain over the next five years.