Mayfield held a 2% stake in the EV ride-hailing startup, and the recent purchase sees the six cofounders’ total equity stake rise to more than 30%
The move comes nearly two weeks after Inc42 reported that BluSmart raised $42 Mn in a part equity, part debt funding round
The stakeholding checkers is also happening when BluSmart is looking to rapidly scale up to 10,000 EVs within FY24
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Mayfield India has exited completely from electric vehicle (EV) ride-hailing startup BluSmart Mobility as cofounder Anmol Singh Jaggi picked up the 2% stake Mayfield held for INR 32 Cr.
To be sure, the VC firm was the first institutional investor in BluSmart, betting on it during the startup’s Seed and Series A rounds. In total, Mayfield had invested around INR 15.5 Cr in BluSmart and has now exited after the life of its fund came to an end, doubling the investment in the process.
A BluSmart spokesperson confirmed the development with Inc42.
The move comes nearly two weeks after Inc42 reported that BluSmart raised $42 Mn in a part equity, part debt funding round.
Incidentally, almost 50% of the round was subscribed by the BluSmart founders and leadership team. The move by Jaggi also reflects some stake consolidation going on at the startup, which has BP Ventures as its largest shareholder with around 20% stake.
Mayfield held a 2% stake in the EV ride-hailing startup, and the recent purchase sees the six cofounders’ total equity stake rise to more than 30%.
Other investors include Alteria Capital, BlackSoil, Stride Ventures, Mumbai Angels and LetsVenture.
“The 2% stake that Mayfield India held was purchased at a valuation of INR 1,600 Cr (around $200 Mn),” Jaggi told ET. “BluSmart will continue to grow at a fast pace. We (founders) believe we should take a bet on our own business instead of backing somebody else’s business,” he added.
The stakeholding checkers is also happening when BluSmart is looking to rapidly scale up across the country. It picked up an INR 633 Cr loan from Power Finance Corporation (PFC) in April 2023 to add 5,000 EVs to BluSmart’s ride-hailing fleet, along with 1,000 cargo EVs for B2B operations.
Flush with cash after the debt and equity funding, the startup is looking to expand its fleet to 10,000 vehicles by the end of FY24. Right now, BluSmart claims to have around 3,500 EVs in its fleet – in essence, the startup wants to triple its fleet within the next three quarters.
Founded in 2019, the electric mobility startup offers EV ride-hailing services and charging infrastructure across Delhi NCR, Bengaluru and other megacities in India. The company claims to have completed more than 5.3 Mn rides so far, travelling 180 Mn+ zero-carbon kilometres in the process.
The consolidation of position from Jaggi also comes against the run of play, when startup founders are quitting to look for other opportunities. This year, the cofounders of ZestMoney, Chingari, Teachmint, Treebo, Freshworks, Sharechat, DailyRounds, Marrow and Zomato have moved on.
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