This makes it the third Indian EV startup to raise funds from Tiger Global, after EV makers Ather Energy and Ola Electric. Battery Smart last raised $7 million in November 2021 from Blume Ventures, Orios Ventures and others.
The company said the fresh funds would be used to expand to new territories, strengthen its technology, and build its team to continue scaling operations.
The funding comes on the back of significant government interest in the battery swapping model. Government think-tank Niti Aayog last month published a draft battery swapping policy, which aims to introduce standards for EV batteries and make them interoperable.
The battery-as-a-service or battery-swapping model helps bring down the cost of EV adoption significantly by taking away the ownership of the battery from the end user. The battery is the most expensive component of any EV, and can account for up to 60% of a vehicle’s cost. The battery swapping model also solves range anxiety, which is the fear of driving an electric vehicle and running out of charge without being able to find a charging station within range.
Gurugram-based Sun Mobility and EV maker Bounce are two other big players in the battery-swapping business.
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“We are thrilled to have Tiger Global be a part of our journey to build India’s largest EV battery swapping network,” said Pulkit Khurana, cofounder, Battery Smart. “Battery swapping has incredible potential to fast-track the country’s EV adoption, as it solves major deterrents like range anxiety, high up-front cost, and long charging downtimes. With this investment, we are focused on bringing our offerings to even more EV users pan-India, by increasing the number of swap stations and continuing to partner with OEMs and fleet operators.”
“Battery Smart’s tech-powered battery-swapping network offers an innovative solution to power India’s rapid adoption of EVs for food delivery and ecommerce. We are excited to partner with Pulkit and Siddharth as they rapidly expand their footprint in key markets,” said Connie Lee, partner, Tiger Global.
