New Delhi, NFAPost: Baaz Bikes (ElecTorq Technologies) today announced that it has received $2 Million in Pre-Series A led by Kalaari Capital.
Existing Investors like AdvantEdge, 9Unicorns and Sumant Sinha (CMD-Renew Power) also participated in this round.
The company’s focus is to become a Mobility Platform that provides gig delivery workers access to its in-house designed cost-efficient EV ecosystem (Baaz Bikes and Baaz Swap Network). Baaz aims to solve the critical problems faced by gig delivery workers, i.e., long-range requirements, rising petrol costs, lack of capex to buy bikes and heavy downtime due to maintenance.
Baaz bikes have an infinite range, supported by their Dense Automated Battery Swapping Infrastructure (Baaz Swap), which helps the gig delivery workers (a.k.a. Baazigars by Baaz) to efficiently make deliveries with minimum cost and without the anxieties associated with EVs i.e., Range, Charge and Service.
Aimed at assisting gig workers to increase their net take home income by up to 100%, Baaz adopted a tech-driven Asset and Operations Light approach, which not only provides an opportunity for gig workers, but also enables local businessmen to enter the rapidly growing EV market in India by becoming a Baaz Bike Rental Partner.
Kalaari Capital Partner Ravinder Pal Singh said it’s always exciting when there are purpose-oriented entrepreneurs inventing and creating foundations that will unlock tremendous economic value.
“When the ergonomics of engineering directly impacts the livelihood of gig workers, it is almost a certainty that scale and its benefits will be a visible quarter to quarter for the business. Baaz Bikes’ indigenous & innovative “Vehicle to Energy to Software” platform is a large-scale mobility solution designed for both India and Bharat, and will be the global standard for last-mile delivery,” said Kalaari Capital Partner Ravinder Pal Singh.
Kalaari Capital Partner Ravinder Pal Singh said Kalaari is fortunate to partner with impact-oriented founders and is privileged to share their passionate vision of creating scale and a profitable EV business while directly enhancing India’s economy.
Baaz Cofounder and CEO Anubhav Sharma said the company is getting bombarded with requests from gig workers to join its platform and start delivering via Baaz.
“Currently on our Baazigar platform, we have gig workers working for food delivery giants like Zomato and Swiggy. With new-age companies promising 10-minute deliveries, demand is only going to strengthen from here. We are excited to have Kalaari’s support in our journey towards Building for Bharat. With this 2M$, we are going to blanket Delhi with our ecosystem in the next 6 months and are targeting to clock 100,000 kms every day,” said Baaz Cofounder and CEO Anubhav Sharma.
A shift towards sustainable and inexpensive modes of travel has been observed globally. The EV sector is expected to grow by 90% by 2030, according to a report by RBSA Advisors. In the Union Budget 2022-23, the government has created a framework for battery swapping policy to allow EV charging stations for automobiles.
The private sector will thus be motivated to create innovative battery models to accelerate the EV ecosystem. This will boost the adoption of EVs, and initiate a move towards cleaner energy and environmentally friendly transportation.
Baaz Bike is a start for inexpensive and sustainable transport for gig workers. India is moving towards being a global hub for EV adoption and manufacturing, with the impetus the government has provided. People are moving away from hydro-carbon-based fuel systems towards green and cleaner energy. This demonstrates that EVs are the future. Baaz is already live in two zones of Delhi with its Swapping Infrastructure and its riders are clocking close to 100,000 green kms every month.
About Baaz Bike:
Founded by 5 IIT Delhi Alumni, Baaz Bikes is a Mobility Platform that provides the Gig Delivery Workers, access to its in-house designed Cost-Efficient Bikes (Baaz Bikes) provided by the Local Bike Rental Partners, with practically an infinite range supported by its Dense Automated Battery Swapping Infrastructure (Baaz Swap), which helps the Gig Delivery Workers (a.k.a Baazigars by Baaz) to efficiently make deliveries with least cost and without worrying about various anxieties associated with EVs i.e. Range, Charge and Service.
About Kalaari Capital:
Kalaari Capital is an early-stage, technology-focused venture capital firm based out of Bengaluru, India. Since 2006, Kalaari has empowered visionary entrepreneurs building unique solutions that reshape the way Indians live, work, consume and transact. The firm’s ethos is to partner early with founders and work with them to navigate the inevitable challenges of fostering ideas into successful businesses. At its core, Kalaari believes in building long-term relationships based on trust, transparency, authenticity, and respect.
