SmartE appoints Palash Roy Chowdhury as chairman & MD

Gurugram-based Treasure Vase Venture, which runs electric vehicles operator SmartE, has appointed non-executive co-founder Palash Roy Chowdhury as chairman and managing director. 

Chowdhury had worked with American conglomerate United Technologies Corporation for over 18 years, last serving as managing director, India for its aerospace manufacturing subsidiary Pratt & Whitney. He had resigned from the company in July.

The University of Michigan alumnus also served as the chairman of the board at not-for-profit organisation United Way of Delhi NCR.

“The electric mobility system ecosystem in India has reached an inflection point beyond which we will see rapid growth. I am very excited about the potential that lies ahead of us. My immediate goal is to work with our co-founder and CEO Goldie [Srivastava] to create a world-class team, deploy technology and processes to help the organisation capture this unprecedented opportunity,” said Chowdhury. 

SmartE

The electric mobility platform has serviced over 35 million commuters, and its fleet comprising of nearly 1,000 electric three-wheelers in the National Capital Region (NCR) transports nearly 100,000 customers daily, an official statement said. 

The company is an official last-mile partner of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, offering feeder services across metro stations in Delhi, Gurugram and Faridabad. The startup has also set up charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in the NCR. 

Last month, SmartE raised $15 million in its Series B round of funding from Japanese conglomerate Mitsui & Co. The startup had said it will leverage the funds to increase its fleet size within NCR and other cities across the country.

The government’s initiatives to encourage electric mobility across the country has given a boost to many startups operating electric vehicles.

Recent deals in the sector

Intra-city electric cab aggregation platform Blu Smart recently raised $2.2 million in a funding round led by the Mumbai-based JITO Angel Network. 

Electric vehicle solutions provider Sun Mobility partnered ride-hailing major Uber to deploy electrically-powered three-wheelers in India. The partnership, announced in July, will hold pilot programmes in select cities across the country.