India’s first all-electric ride hailing platform – BluSmart raises $7 million (Rs. 51) crores in its Pre-series A round funding
Gurugram: BluSmart, India’s first all-electric ride hailing platform has raised $7Mn / Rs. 51 Cr in funding from multiple investors including Inflection Point Ventures, Venture Catalysts, Survam Partners, Mumbai Angels, Chhatisgarh Investments Ltd., JITO Angels, Lets Venture Fund and Kaplavriksh Fund. BluSmart will utilize the funding to expand the number of cars on the platform, set up more charging infrastructure, technology improvements and expand the geographical reach. BluSmart is also in discussions to raise venture debt. BluSmart had previously raised $3Mn in seed round in Sept 2019.
BluSmart is India’s first and largest all-electric, on-demand ride hailing mobility platform led by serial entrepreneurs Anmol Singh Jaggi and Punit K Goyal. The founding team has been expanded with senior professionals, Tushar Garg who comes with deep experience in the mobility sector, Anirudh Arun leading the charge as COO and Rishabh Sood as the CTO, both of whom had previously co-founded a venture in sports analytics and IoT.
Talking about the freshly raised capital, Anmol Singh Jaggi, Co-founder, BluSmart Mobility said, “We aim at bringing in a new narrative in the EV mobility space by giving the highest quality service as evidenced by our app rating, which is highest amongst all ride-sharing platforms and thus, transforming India’s mega-cities by providing convenient, sustainable and affordable mobility with great benefits for consumers, businesses and society at large.”
“Electric mobility is the next big thing in India. BluSmart aims to improve the status of commuting and curbing the burden on environment caused due to transport running on fuel combustion. We are also looking at augmenting the EV uptake by expanding fast electric car charging infrastructure for an easy charging practice,” added Mr. Punit K Goyal, Co-founder, BluSmart Mobility.
The company offers reliable, affordable, safer, smarter, and sanitized electric cabs to consumers in Delhi NCR. Its USPs include Zero Surge Mobility, Zero Emission Mobility and Zero Ride Denials. Building an electric ecosystem with strategic partnerships across automotive, infrastructure and energy companies, the start-up further plans to add thousands of electric cars and hundreds of charging stations on its all electric ride-sharing platform in 2021. Recently, BluSmart launched BluSmart Hourly Rentals product – customers can travel anytime, anywhere and everywhere in Delhi and Gurgaon with multiple stops.
BluSmart is taking on the first global modern pandemic with “innovation and high- quality safety measures”. BluSmart also has taken good hygiene measures keeping in mind the safety of their customers and drivers. All driver partners have their body-temperature checked prior to taking any duty and wellness status is made available to the riders via the BluSmart app. Customers can pre-order a mask on the BluSmart iOS and android app while booking their BluSmart. This is the first for any app-based ride hailing company in the world.
Driver-partners have been trained to open and close the door for customers, to help them avoid surface-contact as best possible. Besides, all cabs are equipped with surface disinfectants along with hand-sanitizers which can be accessed by riders from the rear seat. All cabs have a safety cockpit to physically separate the driver-partner and the rider. BluSmart checks the Aarogya Setu status of each driver every day before they go online.
BluSmart’s zero-emission smart urban mobility service reduces overall air pollution. Since its inception has completed clean 5,000,000+ Kms with 200,000+ clean rides and 375,000+ Kg CO2 saved. Customers can seamlessly book the rides through the BluSmart iOS and Android App or can simply call the booking number and enjoy the no-surge pricing and zero cancellation charges.
Investor Quotes:
Mitesh Shah, Cofounder, Inflection Point Ventures said – “We are very excited to back BluSmart and be part of its success story. BluSmart has already become a reliable brand for Cab service in Gurgaon market with its relentless focus on customer service, advanced product and a highly motivated Driver force. IPV, with its vast Investor base of CXOs from diverse industries including EV, automotive and BFSI, will help BluSmart in growing its fleet economically as well as expand its network exponentially.”
Mr. Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, President & Co-Founder, Venture Catalysts said – “BluSmart is a young Indian start-up led by extremely talented founders and bears huge potential in aiding the Indian electric vehicle industry. We are optimistic that our investment will help the startup embark on its next phase of growth and change the dynamics of EV infrastructure in the country. Also, our association with BluSmart is one step ahead with government of India, that is currently looking to promote electric mobility as one of the key solutions to reduce carbon emission.”