Delhi-NCR-based electric vehicle startup Electrifuel has raised Rs 1.8 crore ($225K) in a seed funding round led by Indian Angel Networks (IAN), with participation from Vishnuraj Kunjur, Sahil Kejriwal, and Pradeep Gupta.
Founded in 2017 by a group of engineers Sumesh Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Abhishek Kumar, and Ujjwal Bhardwaj, Electrifuel enables electric vehicles (EV) and battery manufacturers to provide products with precise geolocation and cellular connectivity, efficient and fast charging, effortless battery swapping, warranty and service management.
Electrifuel was born when Ujjwal came up with the idea of creating a battery swapping system for two and three-wheelers after witnessing the concept of e-rickshaws in Delhi. However, they realized that the technologies required to establish an EV ecosystem are either unavailable or expensive. They saw an opportunity to fill this gap, and incepted Electrifuel with a vision of becoming the go-to EV and battery tech solution provider.
The startup intends to use the raised capital to hire talent for multiple roles to expand its team while scaling up production. It also plans to invest in its research and development (R&D) for the overall growth of the enterprise.
With an incubation in Electropreneur Park (a Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology initiative, backed by STPI & IESA), The EV startup got access to state-of-the-art labs, mentoring, and guidance from experts and industry veterans.
So far, It has deployed more than 15000 units of its products to 25+ customers and in trials with 4 Battery Manufacturers. Additionally, Electrifuel also provides necessary hardware like a Motor Controller, Vehicle Control Unit, Telematics, Battery Charger, and a complete suite of Web & Mobile Apps as software solutions for enterprises and customers.
Ujjwal Bhardwaj, co-founder, Electrifuel, said, “At Electrifuel, we are constantly working on EV technologies that can accelerate the world’s transition from fossil fuels to electric vehicles. While we have been a bootstrapped company since our inception, with IAN backing us now, we will scale up at a much faster pace and grow our team. We are looking to speed up the development of new products, acquire more clients, and expand our overall footprint.”
Commenting on the investment, Vishnuraj Kunjur, Lead Investor at IAN said, “As the world is moving towards green energy, Electric Vehicles (EV) are the future to solve the fossil fuel crisis. There is a need for robust hardware and software to support, enhance the productivity and effectiveness of EVs.”
“Electrifuel has developed proprietary, indigenous battery management (BMS), Telematics hardware, and EV operating system through Electrifuel’s SaaS model. Their equipment and software model is already proven considering the number of units implemented by leading manufacturers such as Greenfuel, Indigrid, Waaree, Hyperex, etc., also the huge pipeline they have with all Tier1 EV automobile firms in India and around the globe,” Vishnuraj added.
Source @Indianstartupnews
