Venture Catalysts leads bridge funding round in EV charging co Charge+Zone

Startup incubator and accelerator Venture Catalysts on Wednesday said that it has led a $3 million funding round at TecSo ChargeZone, which is the owner of electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions provider Charge+Zone.

Other investors in the round, dubbed as pre-Series A, included Mumbai Angels, Keiretsu Forum, and Ramakrishnan Family Office, a statement said. The investment from Mumbai Angels was disclosed by the angel investor collective in May.

The Vadodara headquartered startup will use the fresh capital to scale its operations towards early 2021 deployment plans, as it looks to build million unmanned charging points over the next 10 years in India, founder and CEO Kartikey Hariyani said.

Founded in 2018 by former Larsen & Toubro employee Hariyani, the startup offers EV charging solutions based on the internet of things (IoT) and cloud technologies. Customers can access the location of EV charging stations, the charge spot status in case of a queue or pre-bookings, and navigate to the location using its app.

The platform claims to provide access to 106 charging points in seven cities for electric buses and electric cars. 

“With over 120 Fast DC charging points (CCS2/GBT) across seven cities in India, CHARGE+ZONE caters to more than 500 EV vehicles on a daily basis. With a vertically integrated platform of CPO (Charge Point Operations) and Smartphone App, we cater to various clientele including Ashok Leyland, BluSmart, EEE-Taxi, Shuttl, SmartE, Bajaj Auto among others,” Hariyani said.

Apart from Hariyani, the company’s leadership team comprises renewable energy and technology professionals.

“With an extensive target market in each B2B (housing complex and corporate houses), B2B2C (two-, three-, and four-wheeler vehicles, as well as cab aggregators), and B2C (public charging stations) sectors, CHARGE+ZONE’s potential and opportunity for growth is massive… We firmly believe that with this growth-stage investment we are contributing to further our country’s advance towards a sustainable and pollution-free future,” Venture Catalysts’ co-founder and president Apoorva Ranjan Sharma said.