Battery Smart Raises USD 25 Mn, From Tiger Global, Others

EV battery swapping startup Battery Smart on Monday said it has raised USD 25 million (around Rs 195 crore) in a funding round led by Tiger Global and others for business expansion. "Battery Smart has closed its series A round of USD 25 million. The funding round was led by Tiger Global, along with participation from Blume Ventures and Orios Ventures," it said in a statement.

The fund will be utilized to expand to new territories, strengthen the battery assignment technology, and build the team to continue scaling operations, Battery Smart said. Last November, the platform mopped up USD 7 million in a pre-series A round led by Blume Ventures and Orios Ventures, along with angel investors. Co-founded by IIT-Kanpur graduates Pulkit Khurana and Siddharth Sikka in 2020, Battery Smart is looking at the fast-growing battery swap market, which is expected to touch USD 17 billion by 2025, with its plans to set up swapping stations in every square kilometre area.

The company claims its battery-as-a-service (BaaS) model enables interoperable battery swapping for electric vehicles in under two minutes and reduces the upfront investment borne by a consumer by up to 60 per cent. The company has completed over 2.5-million battery swaps so far, it said. "Battery swapping has incredible potential to fast-track the country's EV adoption, as it solves major deterrents like range anxiety, high upfront costs, and long charging downtimes," Khurana said. With this investment, he said, the company is focused on bringing its offerings to even more EV users across India, by increasing the number of swap stations and continuing to partner with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and fleet operators.

"We are also looking to strengthen our technology for effective network planning and make key hires in our growing team," Khurana added. Citing some reports, the platform said the battery swapping market in India has strong growth prospects, with electric two and three-wheelers expected to contribute up to 30 per cent of the first and last-mile vehicle sales by 2027. "Battery Smart's tech-powered battery swapping network offers an innovative solution to power India's rapid adoption of EVs for food delivery and e-commerce. We are excited to partner with the company as it rapidly expands its footprint in key markets," said Connie Lee, Partner, Tiger Global. PTI IAS ANU ANU