Indian Uber-rival BluSmart secures $25M from ResponsAbility

BluSmart, an Indian ride-hailing startup, is making waves in the market with its all-electric fleet. Competing against giants like Uber and Ola, BluSmart is upping the ante with a strong focus on boosting its battery charging infrastructure.

• Funding News: BluSmart recently secured an impressive $25M from Switzerland-based impact fund ResponsAbility. This funding follows a rights issue of $24M just a month prior, and another rights issue of $42M a few months earlier.

• Investor Backing: BluSmart, founded by Anmol Jaggi, Puneet Singh Jaggi, Punit K Goyal, and is backed by other investors like BP Ventures, Mayfield India Fund, Green Frontier Capital, and Survam Partners.

• How Will the Funds be Used: The newly acquired capital will be directed towards expanding BluSmart's EV charging infrastructure. The company currently operates 35 charging stations, housing 4,000 chargers. However, they plan to escalate this to around 95–100 stations in the next few months.

• Company Journey: BluSmart's journey began in December 2019, with a fleet of 6,000 EVs, which the company aims to expand to 10,000 later this year.

• Growth Metrics: Between 2022 and 2023, BluSmart experienced a massive increase of over 600% in its gross merchandise value, from $2.76 million to about $20 million. The startup also saw its monthly active users more than double, from 120,000 to 245,000 in December.

The startup also recently introduced a loyalty program, BluElite, offering value-added services to subscribers. Despite experiencing market slowdown due to its asset-heavy business model, BluSmart demonstrates promising potential with its unique approach in the ride-hailing industry.