EV Startup Battery Smart Secures $33 Mn Funding From Tiger, Blume

Battery-swapping network startup Battery Smart has raised $33 Mn funding in Pre-Series B funding round.

The funding round saw participation from Battery Smart’s existing investors, Tiger Global and Blume Ventures, as well as new investors, The Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF) and British International Investment (BII).

With the fresh capital, the startup wants to scale up to add 100K customers to its network by 2025, and expand its geographic footprint.

“With 25,000 active customers across tier 1, 2 and 3 cities, we are keen to reinforce our ESG objectives while supporting India’s pursuit towards net-zero emissions. This investment also signifies our commitment to enhancing the livelihoods of our station partners and drivers, empowering them to play a significant role in India’s transition towards electric mobility,” Pulkit Khurana, cofounder and CEO of Battery Smart, said.

Founded in 2020 by IIT Kanpur graduates Pulkit Khurana and Siddharth Sikka, the Gurugram-based startup provides battery swapping solutions and charging infrastructure across the country.

Battery Smart competes with the likes of Chargeup, RACEnergy and SUN Mobility, among others.

In June 2022, Battery Smart raised $25 Mn in Series A funding led by Tiger Global, along with participation from Blume Ventures and Orios Ventures.

Since then, the EV startup claimed to have seen a 6x growth in its revenue and customer base, creating a dense network encompassing 600+ Swap Stations across 25 cities. Till date, the startup has completed more than 12 Mn battery swaps and is looking to double that number, as per an official statement.

The funding announcement comes at a time when EV adoption in the country is on the rise, especially in the two- and three-wheeler categories.

In 2022, electric two-wheeler registrations in India grew to 6.3 Lakh units from 1.5 Lakh in 2021, while electric three-wheeler registrations rose to 3.5 Lakh units in 2022 from 1.6 Lakh in 2021, as per Vahan data.

Despite the growth, EV startups in the country are struggling with several issues, fire incidents being one of them. Earlier in April, one of Battery Smart’s battery swapping stations caught fire in Delhi’s Janakpuri area.

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.