BluSmart, an Indian EV-only ride-hailing startup has raised $42 million

BluSmart Mobility, an Indian ride-hailing startup that uses only electric vehicles, has raised $42 million as it seeks to strengthen its position in the Indian ride-hailing market.

The latest round included an equity round of $37 million and venture debt of $5 million and saw participation from BP Ventures, the investment arm of energy giant BP Plc with almost 50% of the round being subscribed by the BluSmart founders and leadership team.

So far, it raised $109 million across its seed and Series A rounds and is currently valued at $250 million. The startup says it will use the latest round of capital to penetrate deeper into major cities and more than double its fleet to 10,000 over the next year.

The latest funding stokes the competition with local ride-hailing rivals such as Ola Cabs and Uber, who have also started introducing some electric vehicles into their car fleets.

BluSmart, headquartered in Gurgaon outside New Delhi, was launched in December 2019 by Anmol Jaggi and four others with the idea of bringing a new, greener ride-hailing option to the massive Indian market with a focus on sustainability and profitability and a larger purpose to accelerate EV adoption and reverse climate change.

Although met with some challenges due to the covid pandemic in the year following its launch, the company's revenue has grown 3 times over the last three quarters. It now has an all-electric ride-hailing fleet size of 3,500 EVs currently operating in Delhi NCR and Bengaluru, with plans to have 10,000 EVs in FY24, as claimed by the company in a statement.

Apart from its EV ride-hailing service, the startup also finances cars, sets up electric charging infrastructure working with partners and is also getting involved in electric-car manufacturing with partner GenSol Engineering Ltd.