Energy storage solutions company has raised Rs 48.5 crore in a Series A funding round led by Info Edge, Pi Ventures, and Kalaari Capital, Clean Electric Co-founder and CEO Akash Gupta told YourStory in an interview.
Entrackr was the first to report on the fundraise, citing a Registrar of Companies document.
Info Edge, Pi Ventures, and Kalaari Capital have each invested Rs 14.5 crore, while impact investment firm Lok Capital invested Rs 5 crore in the funding round.
“Our thesis is that there still remain pivotal unsolved parts in the value chain of electric mobility, both passenger and commercial. Reliable batteries that can be charged quickly without decline in cycles and range is a key example. Clean Electric’s current suite of products and technical prowess make them a key contender to solve this at a national, possibly global scale. We are excited to support and serve them,” Chinmaya Sharma, Partner at Info Edge Ventures, said in a statement.
Clean Electric manufactures batteries for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers. It expects to roll out battery packs for four-wheelers in the first quarter of calendar year 2025, and for heavy electric vehicles in 2025.
The Pune-based company’s two-wheeler batteries can be charged between 12-15 minutes and its three-wheeler batteries can be charged in between 20-25 minutes, according to the Co-founder.
The company intends to use the newly raised capital to scale its annual recurring revenue (ARR) by 8-10X in the next 12 months. According to Gupta, the company is currently doing $1.2 million in ARR.
Clean Electric will also use the funds to invest into research and development of its products, which includes electric car battery packs for fleets and for commercial vehicles.
Additionally, the company expects to scale up its manufacturing capacity to between 150-200 megawatt hours (MWh) in annual battery production by the end of this year. Its current capacity is close to 20 MWh, Gupta added.
“We have already announced our collaboration with Bounce Infinity and Omega Seiki Mobility, and as we go forward, there are several OEMs with which we are in advanced stages of discussions —to be specific, about the start of production with different electric vehicle OEMs,” he said.
(L-R) Abhinav Roy (CTO), Akash Gupta (CEO), Ankit Joshi (CPO)
According to data website Tracxn, the company has been valued at $21.4 million as of August 23, 2024. However, Gupta declined to comment on the company’s current valuation but said the figure is close.
Clean Electric sells its batteries at a 10-20% premium compared to other battery manufacturers, but Gupta says that as it scales its production, it will be able to close this gap.
“So, right now it’s very early stage, that is the reason there is a lot of premium—10-20% premium. But as we scale, the gap will keep on reducing,” Gupta said.
Founded in 2020 by IITBHU batchmates Akash Gupta and Abhinav Roy, Clean Electric previously raised $2.2 million in a seed funding round in 2022, according to data website Tracxn. It currently operates across 35 cities in 10 states and has 80 team members.
The company’s current founding team includes Gupta, Roy and its Chief Product Officer, Ankit Joshi.
