Delhi-based battery swapping startup Battery Smart has raised $65 million in a Series B funding round led by impact investment firm LeapFrog Investments. The startup will use the fresh capital injection to bolster its charging infrastructure network across India and accelerate technological advancements.
In an official statement, Battery Smart co-founder and CEO Pulkit Khurana mentioned that the funding would enable faster expansion plans, enhance its swapping station technology, and help scale operations nationwide. Besides LeapFrog, existing investors Blume Ventures, Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF) and British International Investment (BII) also participated in this mixed primary and secondary round.
New players Acacia Inclusion, Japanese financial giant MUFG Bank, and Panasonic-Kurashi Fund have also backed the startup. Post funding, Acacia will own a 9.83% stake, while Blume and EIF will hold 14.43% and 6.56% stakes respectively on a fully diluted basis. Sources estimate this round values Battery Smart at around $350 million.
Founded in 2020 by IIT Kanpur alumni Pulkit Khurana and Siddharth Sikka, Battery Smart allows electric vehicle owners to replace depleted batteries with fully charged ones within minutes via an automated swapping network. It currently runs India's largest battery swapping network in Delhi-NCR with over 100 stations.
The startup's financials showcase impressive growth – revenues jumped nearly six-fold to $7.6 million in FY23 from $1.3 million in the previous year. However, losses also increased substantially to $8.4 million from $1.8 million over the same period, indicating aggressive investments for expansion.
Battery Smart will use the fresh funds to add more stations and cities to its national footprint. It faces healthy competition in the swapping sector from startups like ChargeUP, Sun Mobility and RACEnergy who are also vying for a slice of the booming Indian EV market.
