BluSmart To Raise $25 Mn From responsAbility To Expand Its EV Charging Infra

Delhi NCR-based electric mobility startup BluSmart is set to raise $25 Mn (around INR 208 Cr) in a fresh funding round from Switzerland-based impact investor responsAbility Investments AG in a mezzanine structure, including partial equity dilution and debt.

BluSmart, which competes with Bengaluru-based Lithium, Delhi-based eee-Taxi, Kolkata-based Snap-E Cabs as well as giants like Ola and Uber, plans to deploy its fresh proceeds to expand its electric vehicle charging infrastructure across India.

The electric mobility startup’s new funding comes days after it raised $24 Mn (INR 200 Cr) in a fresh equity funding round, which saw participation and over-subscription from its existing investors, founders and leadership team.

Inc42’s email queries sent to BluSmart on the post-money valuation did not elicit any response till the filing of this news article.

Back then, the startup said it would use the capital to build large-scale EV charging superhubs enabling the expansion of its electric ride-hailing service.

Founded in 2019 by Anmol Jaggi and Punit K Goyal, BluSmart offers EV ride-hailing services and charging infrastructure across Delhi NCR, Bengaluru and other megacities in India. 

The startup currently operates over 5,500 EVs and aims to increase the fleet size to 8,000 across Delhi NCR and Bengaluru by next year.

The company claims to have completed more than 10 Mn rides so far, travelling more than 330 Mn zero-carbon Km in the process.

BluSmart also owns and operates over 4,000 EV chargers, across its 34 EV charging superhubs.

“BluSmart has been at the forefront of leading India’s EV mission. We have made large-scale investments in real EV assets and EV infrastructure since inception with a singular focus to decarbonise mobility at scale,” Jaggi said. 

He further added, “With responsAbility’s investment and support we will continue our mission to rapidly expand our iconic 100% EV ride-hailing service & building large EV charging infrastructure for a better, cleaner and a more sustainable future.”

Sameer Tirkar, principal APAC for climate finance at responsAbility, said, “BluSmart’s pioneering role in reducing carbon emissions in urban transportation aligns perfectly with responsAbility’s mission to invest in sustainable businesses that drive positive environmental and social impact. We are dedicated to supporting these climate-focused growth companies that actively reduce CO2 emissions in Asia through targeted investments in low-emission technologies.”

Earlier this month, BluSmart rolled out a new fare structure for different times of the day, which includes surge pricing like app cab aggregators – Ola and Uber.

This came after the founders of the startup promised to provide zero cancellations and zero surge pricing, unlike its ride-hailing counterparts.

BluSmart’s new pricing structure has two time slots – rush hours with higher charges and relaxed hours with lower rates. 

In April last year, BluSmart bagged $42 Mn in a funding round. It plans to take its fleet size to 10,000 in FY24 from around 3,500 vehicles it had in May.

Meanwhile, the startup’s consolidated net loss in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22) widened by 66% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 65.5 Cr due to a significant increase in expenses. BluSmart’s net loss was INR 39.4 Cr in FY21. Despite robust business growth, the electric ride-hailing company faced a negative impact on its bottom line in FY22.

Indian EV startups offer services such as sustainable mobility, energy infrastructure, commercial mobility and battery management system, among others, to the general masses and enterprises. Besides, they are also helping reduce carbon emissions and offering a cheaper alternative to fossil fuels. As a result, the space has been gaining a lot of traction from the investors.