[Update] Exclusive: Cleantech Startup Kazam Bags $8 Mn From Vertex Ventures, Others

Update | Aug 12, 3:10 PM
Almost two weeks after Inc42 reported about Kazam raising funding from Vertex Ventures, the startup today announced that it has raised $8 Mn in its Series A3 funding round led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India. Avaana Capital, Alteria Capital and others participated in this round. With the fresh capital infusion, Kazam plans to strengthen its technology and product teams, enhance its platform offerings, and expand its market presence.

Original Story | July 25, 7:38 PM

Electric mobility startup Kazam is raising $5 Mn (INR 42.5 Cr) in a funding round led by Licious and Pilgrim-backer Vertex Ventures. The round will also see participation from Avaana Capital and Chakra India Growth Fund, as per its filing with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). 

The startup plans to use the capital to fuel its growth and expansion plans. Following the investment, Vertex Ventures will own a 16.45% stake in the startup. Avaana will also see its stake increase to 16.45%, while Chakra India Growth Fund will own 0.63% stake. 

Vertex is infusing the highest amount – INR 30 Cr – in the funding round. 

There’s a possibility that the size of the funding round may increase if more investors join. Queries sent to Kazam about the funding round didn’t elicit any response till the time of publishing this story. 

Besides funding, the startup’s shareholders also approved a proposal to set up Management Stock Option 2024 (MSOS 2024).

Kazam last raised $3.6 Mn in a funding round led by Avaana Climate Fund in May last year. It also saw participation from Third Derivative and existing investors Inflection Point Ventures and We Founder Circle.

Founded in 2020 by Akshay Shekhar and Vaibhav Tyagi, the Bengaluru-based startup claims to manage 150,000 kWh of electricity in the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific. 

Its offerings include hardware as well as software. In terms of hardware, it primarily offers EV charging. On the software side, it offers fleet management software, charging management solutions, battery swapping management, among others. 

The startup claims to have 15,000 chargers on its platform and onboarded 65,000 users. 

Kazam competes against the likes of Bolt.Earth and Battery Smart. It counts the likes of Flipkart, Mahindra Logistics, BigBasket, and LetsTransport among its clients.