Fresh Bus Raises Additional INR 43.9 Cr Funding, Closes Series A Round At INR 87.5 Cr

Bengaluru-based inter-state electric bus service provider Fresh Bus has raised an additional INR 43.9 Cr (about $5.2 Mn) in its Series A funding round led by Maniv Mobility. 

The round also saw participation from Shell Ventures, Alteria Capital and existing investor Riverwalk Holdings. 

With this, the startup has closed its Series A round at INR 87.5 Cr (around $10.4 Mn). Last month, Inc42 reported Fresh Bus had raised INR 43.7 Cr in its ongoing Series A round.

The startup plans to use the fresh capital to scale up its bus fleet by launching 150 e-buses and expand its route network by adding 15 new routes. 

Besides, it will use the funds to boost  its operations, enhance its technological capabilities and strengthen its strategic team to drive growth.

Fresh Bus founder Sudhakar Chirra said that the startup expects to scale to 1,000 electric buses across India over the next four years. 

Nate Jaret, partner at Maniv Mobility, “India’s intercity bus travel is ripe for disruption, and Sudhakar’s team is rapidly modernizing it through innovations in drivetrain, infrastructure, and customer experience.”

Founded in 2019 by second-time entrepreneur Sudhakar Reddy Chirra, FreshBus manages a full-stack platform. 

The startup claims that its electric buses have noise-free air-conditioned cabins, IOT-enabled real-time air-quality and temperature monitoring, security CCTVs, personal charging docks, Wi-Fi, real-time tracking and alcohol checks.

It competes against GreenCell Express, IntrCity SmartBus, ZingBus and gogoBus in the online bus aggregator and operator market.

The company last raised its funding in October, bagging INR 7.5 Cr from a clutch of investors, including CRED founder and CEO Kunal Shah, TVS Motors MD Sudarshan Venu and Rivigo CEO and founder Deepak Garg.

Prior to that, in February 2023, the EV bus startup raised INR 16 Cr ($3.1 Mn) in its seed funding round from ixigo, against a commitment of INR 26 Cr. 

The funding comes against the backdrop of surging demand for electric buses in India. This demand is further reinforced by the government’s push for EV adoption to meet its climate targets under multiple CoPs. 

Underlining this push, the Centre greenlit the PM-eBus Sewa scheme in August 2023 to deploy 10,000 ebuses across 169 cities with a total outlay of INR 57,000 Cr.

According to a report by Mordor Intelligence, the Indian EV market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 22.9% to $120 Bn by 2030 from $34.8 Bn in 2024.