Exponent Energy Raises $26.4M for EV Charging

New Delhi, Dec 14 (PTI) Energy-tech startup Exponent Energy on Thursday said it has raised USD 26.4 million (nearly Rs 220 crore) in a series B funding round led by Eight Roads Ventures and with a strategic investment from TDK Ventures.

Besides the two new global investors, the round witnessed participation from all existing investors like Lightspeed, YourNest VC, 3one4 Capital, AdvantEdge VC, and the family office of Pawan Munjal, Executive Chairman of Hero MotoCorp, the company said in a statement.

The Bengaluru-based startup said so far it has raised USD 44.4 million and plans to utilise the fresh funds to scale its presence in five new cities in FY24.

"The company also plans to expand its offering in the e3W (electric three-wheeler) space and enter the intercity e-bus segment in 2024. It aims to deploy 1,000 'e^pumps' (charging stations) and have 25,000 EVs powered by Exponent by 2025," it added.

"With this round, we're set to scale operations from battery manufacturing to on-ground network presence across categories and cities, and simplify the broken energy ecosystem at scale," Exponent Energy Co-founder & CEO Arun Vinayak said.

On the investment in the startup, Aditya Systla, Partner at Eight Roads Ventures, said, "Exponent's focus on the Indian commercial vehicle space is a massive opportunity which constitutes 10 per cent of vehicles but consumes 70 per cent of the on-road energy, with more vehicles transitioning to electric over the next few years."

Similarly, TDK Ventures President, Nicolas Sauvage said, "Exponent's groundbreaking achievement in crafting an economical and scalable 15-minute rapid charging solution utilising standard LFP (lithium iron phosphate) cells is revolutionary, allowing electric vehicles to adopt a more compact battery pack that can swiftly charge within a concentrated public charging infrastructure, effectively removing range anxiety.