Electric ride-hailing firm BluSmart raises $24 million to expand charging infrastructure

India's electric ride hailing firm BluSmart has raised $24 million (Rs 200 crore), in a new equity round. The firm has said that this new fund will be used to expand its electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

BluSmart's fundraising

The firm's founders, existing investors and the company's leadership team participated in the fund raising round.

"It has been a landmark year for BluSmart with great achievements like the historic milestone of completion of 10 million electric trips and key industry recognitions," said Anmol Singh Jaggi, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of BluSmart.

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Backed by the Development Financial Institutions (DFI), BluSmart has also secured long-term and sustainable EV asset financing of $200 million.

"The overwhelming support for the rights issue by our investors and belief exhibited by leading Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) shows exceptional confidence in our mission," said Jaggi.

BluSmart EV charging Infrastructure

BluSmart which operates over 4,000 EV chargers in India, aims to increase the EV fleet size to 8,000 across Delhi and Bengaluru next year.

"EV charging infrastructure is the biggest bottleneck for large-scale EV adoption and is also the single largest opportunity. Cities have challenges with finite prime locations and lack of adequate power load," said Tushar Garg, CEO of BluSmart Charging.

"BluSmart is building large EV Charging Superhubs at prime locations across Delhi and Bangalore with industry-leading utilisation," he added.

With over 5,500 EVs on Indian roads, BluSmart operates India's and South East Asia's largest EV full-stack ecosystem. As per BluSmart, the firm has crossed $50 million in annual revenue run-rate and is growing at more than 100 per cent year-on-year.