New Delhi: BluSmart Mobility, a company that offers an all-electric ride-hailing fleet that runs on clean energy, has raised $42 million (around Rs 342 crore) during a bridge funding round from existing investors BP Ventures and Survam Partners, along with participation from BluSmart’s leadership team. This recent funding round includes $37 million in equity and $5 million in venture debt, with nearly 50% of the funding coming from BluSmart’s founders and leadership team. BluSmart has raised $109 million across its seed to Series A2 rounds, including an equity raise of $85 million in Series A rounds. The company has also received EV asset leasing of $150 million (around Rs 1,200 crore) backed by Development Financial Institutions such as the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) and the Power Finance Corporation (PFC), among others.
The funding will be used to expand BluSmart’s operations, which currently has an all-electric ride-hailing fleet of 3,500 vehicles operating in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. BluSmart plans to deploy 10,000 EVs in FY24. The company was founded in 2019 by Anmol Jaggi and Punit Goyal, and it competes against domestic rival Ola and ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies.
BluSmart has seen a 3X growth in monthly revenue over the last three quarters and aims to increase its revenue by pervasive, deeper into top-tier cities. The company’s co-founder and chief executive, Anmol Jaggi, said that BluSmart addresses the challenges of the electrification of public transportation through a full-stack approach, which includes a born-electric tech stack, complete control over EV charging infrastructure (installation, execution, and utilization), and selecting prime locations to build large-scale EV charging infrastructure while optimizing the use and maintenance of the EV ride-hailing fleet at scale.
Recently, BluSmart secured $77 million in asset financing from PFC to finance 5,000 electric vehicles for its platform. The company plans to use the loans to finance 1,000 cargo three-wheelers and lease them out to last-mile delivery partners. In May last year, the company raised $25 million in its extended Series A round, led by BP Ventures and Green Frontier Capital, with participation from Stride Ventures, Alteria Capital, BlackSoil, and UCIC. It closed its Series A round at $50.7 million (around Rs 380 crore) and has also secured EV financing of $35.7 million backed by IREDA.
BluSmart’s success is indicative of the growing demand for sustainable transportation solutions, particularly in urban areas, as consumers become more environmentally conscious. BluSmart is committed to promoting sustainability and reducing carbon emissions through its electric vehicle ride-hailing platform, and with its latest funding round, the company is well positioned to expand its operations and impact in the coming years.
