[ad_1]
NEW DELHI : Electric mobility startup Yulu Bikes Pvt. Ltd on Monday said it has raised ₹653 crore ($82 million) in a Series B round of funding led by US mobility technology company Magna International Inc. Existing investors including Bajaj Auto also participated in the round.
Yulu plans to use the funds to strengthen its product and technology innovation. It also plans to increase its electric vehicle fleet to over 100,000, along with more than 500 battery charging and swapping stations in the next 12 months.
“We can see a 100 times growth opportunity for Yulu in both the mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) and battery-as-a-service (BaaS) businesses in the next three-four years. As the market leader in electric mobility, with a proven business model built on positive unit economics, our focus now will be to establish a robust supply chain and scale up our operations,” said Amit Gupta, co-founder and chief executive officer, Yulu.
The planned business expansion will turn Yulu into a free cash flow company and lay the foundation for exponential growth, the company said in a release.
“We will go deeper and denser in our existing markets and explore new areas while delivering a great customer experience,” said Gupta.
Founded in 2017 by Amit Gupta, Yulu offers last-mile connectivity to travellers via its electric bikes. It also operates a network of EV charging and battery swapping network.
With Magna, Yulu is setting up a new entity, Yulu Energy, to create a nationwide battery charging and swapping infrastructure to cater to the demand from Yulu as well as vehicles made by other companies. This is expected to reduce the upfront cost of buying EVs and accelerate the adoption of electric mobility in India, the company said.
“Micromobility presents a great opportunity for additional growth for Magna, and joining forces with Yulu helps us expand our business into this rapidly growing sector,” said Matteo Del Sorbo, executive vice president, Magna International and global lead of Magna New Mobility.
In the past, Yulu raised funds from Rocketship.vc, Blume Ventures, Bajaj Auto, 3one4 Capital, Tracxn Labs and Incubate Capital Partners. In June, it raised close to $30 million. Also, in November 2019, Bajaj Auto invested around ₹57.1 crore in Yulu.
Yulu recorded revenue of ₹13.7 crore in FY2020-21, according to the latest available data. While the startup is yet to file its revenues for FY22, Gupta said the company’s annual revenue is now close to $6 million.
The Indian EV segment is expected to receive investments worth $12.6 billion across the automotive supply chain by 2026, as per a joint report by Indospace and Colliers. As much as 64% of the investments are expected to be made in automakers and the rest in battery manufacturing, the report noted.
Last year, total private equity and venture capital investments in the electric mobility segment jumped to $1.7 billion in 2021, from just $181 million in 2020, according to a joint report titled ‘Electrifying Indian Mobility’ by IVCA-EY-Induslaw.
Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
[ad_2]
Source link
John Miller has been writing about science, gaming, and tech culture for over a decade. He’s a top-rated reviewer with extensive experience helping people find the best deals on tech and more.
