BLU Smart Mobility Pvt Ltd, which operates electric taxi-hailing and riding platform BluSmart, has raised Series-A funding worth $25 million (Rs 185 crore) led by BP Ventures. BP Ventures invested $13 million (around 96 crore). Others in the round were Mayfield India Fund, 9Unicorns, Survam Partners, and other existing investors. Sophia Nadur, managing partner at BP Ventures, will join BluSmart’s board.
The fundraising announcement comes after BluSmart raised Rs 37 crore (nearly $5 million) and $7 million (Rs 51 crore) in pre-Series A fundings last year.
“BluSmart will use the capital to expand its fleet of electric vehicles and charging stations from its home city of Delhi to five additional Indian cities in the next two years,” it said.
BP Ventures was set up more than 10 years ago to identify and invest in private, high growth, game-changing technology companies, accelerating innovation across the entire energy spectrum. To date, BP Ventures has invested almost $800 million in more than 60 companies across seven geographies.
Founded in 2019 by Anmol Singh Jaggi and Punit K Goyal, BluSmart started its services as an electric ride-hailing business. Last year in June, the startup expanded its services to include EV car subscriptions. The startup had partnered with Mahindra Electric to onboard 70 Mahindra eVerito premium sedans to its cab fleet. It had planned to add up to 500 Mahindra eVeritos.
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BluSmart claims to have completed more than 500K electric trips in Delhi-NCR and has covered up to 16 Mn Km. The startup has said that its app has been downloaded more than 250K times. BluSmart said that its fleet of EV taxis have saved over 1,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and while completing 650K trips since its inception.
Safety and cleanliness are paramount in the Indian market, and customers can view the last time each car was sanitized and driver vaccination status via the BluSmart app. The company also removes the financial burden of vehicle ownership by leasing vehicles to drivers and oversees all vehicle maintenance, to help reduce driver stress.
India is now the third-largest startup market globally and its GDP is projected to be the world’s third-largest by 2030. Yet with 35 of the top 50 most polluted cities globally, there’s a huge need for low carbon technologies to help make that growth compatible with its climate ambitions.
The industry is forecast to grow significantly, with mobility as a service projected to make up 15% of the 1.1 trillion kilometers to be travelled by passenger vehicles in India by 2030, compared to 5% of the 477 billion kilometers travelled today.
Sashi Mukundan, president, BP India and senior vice president, BP Group said, “India is making rapid progress in increasing the use of electric vehicles by providing mobility solutions for its people. Today’s investment in BluSmart helps reinforce our commitment to partner in India’s aim to achieve its climate goals and be Atmanirbhar.”
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