Exclusive: Green Frontier Capital Exits Battery Smart With About 18X Returns

Climate-focussed venture capital (VC) fund Green Frontier Capital has exited EV battery-swapping startup Battery Smart with about 18X returns. 

Green Frontier exited Battery Smart during its Series B funding round of $65 Mn, which was led by LeapFrog Investments. The round, a mix of primary and secondary startup investments, also saw participation from MUFG Bank, Panasonic, Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF), Blume Ventures, and British International Investment (BII).

With this, Green Frontier became the first early backer of Battery Smart to fully exit the startup. Earlier, Orios Venture Partners announced its partial exit from Battery Smart with 29X returns. 

Sandiip Bhammer, the founder and co-managing partner of Green Frontier, told Inc42 that the exit is a testament to Battery Smart’s “phenomenal” growth over the years. 

“We are an early-stage VC investor and the company has gone beyond the stages in which we invest. To be precise, Battery Smart has effectively outgrown our fund mandate because of the rapid increase in its size. We are excited about their future as they partner with their new growth-stage investors and help the EV adoption in India from here on,” said Bhammer.

Founded in 2019 by IIT Kanpur graduates Pulkit Khurana and Siddharth Sikka, Battery Smart offers battery-swapping solutions across the country. The startup has emerged as one of the leading battery-swapping networks for electric two and three-wheelers. Currently, it has around 70% market share in the EV battery-swapping network.

Green Frontier invested in the startup in 2021 when Battery Smart used to do around 1 Lakh battery swaps per month. The number of battery swaps has zoomed to about 10 Lakh per month now, Bhammer said.

However, the VC firm declined to comment on the exact amount of returns it made from the exit.

Inc42 has learnt from sources that Green Frontier exited Battery Smart with 17.9X returns and 150% internal rate of return (IRR).

Meanwhile, Bhammer said, “Green Frontier has given outsized returns to its investors in a very short period. Both Pulkit and Siddharth are among the best climate entrepreneurs that we have backed. Their vision has been clear from day one. They have more than achieved what our expectations were for them.”

Founded in 2020 by Bhammer, Green Frontier counts the likes of BluSmart, ElectricPe, and Euler Motors in its portfolio. 

On the other hand, Battery Smart competes with the likes of Chargeup, RACEnergy and SUN Mobility. Prior to its latest funding round, the startup raised $33 Mn in pre-Series B funding round in July last year.

As per Battery Smart’s standalone financials, its operating revenue jumped 597% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 55.4 Cr in FY23. Net loss widened 401% YoY to INR 64.4 Cr in FY23.