Indian EV startup Zypp Electric raises $25 mln in Gogoro-led round

Gogoro

08/02/2023 12:30

By Praveen Paramasivam
       CHENNAI, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Zypp Electric said on
Wednesday it has raised $25 million in a series B funding round
led by Taiwanese battery-swapping service provider Gogoro Inc
 GGR.O , as the Indian electric vehicle startup looks to expand
to new cities and boost its fleet size.
    The funding round marks Gogoro's latest effort to expand in
India, where EVs are receiving mainstream push, having partnered
with the country's top bikemaker Hero MotoCorp  HROM.NS  and the
state of Maharashtra.
    "Electric vehicles are what the entire (delivery) industry
is looking forward to," Zypp's Chief Executive Officer Akash
Gupta told Reuters.
    The startup, which provides EVs for last-mile delivery for
online stores, plans on using the funds to increase its fleet
size to 200,000 EVs from 10,000, and expand to 30 Indian cities
including Chennai and Mumbai by 2025, up from six currently.
    Delivery companies in India are gearing towards cleaner
mobility, with Amazon  AMZN.O  aiming to have 10,000 EVs for
deliveries by 2025, while Walmart's  WMT.N  Flipkart plans to
have 25,000 EVs by 2030.
    Several new and existing investors, including Goodyear Tire
& Rubber's  GT.O  Goodyear Ventures, 9Unicorns and WFC,
participated in the funding round, which comprised $20 million
in equity and $5 million in debt. About $12 million in equity
was from Gogoro, Zypp said.
    Zypp is now valued at about six times the nearly $30 million
valuation it fetched in the previous round, Gupta said, adding
it is recording $20 million in annual recurring revenue and
growing 20% to 25% month-on-month.
    Founded in 2017, Zypp has partnered with online shopping
platforms Flipkart and Myntra, food delivery service providers
Zomato  ZOMT.NS  and Swiggy, and grocery players Zepto and
Blinkit.
    It also aims to grow its operations by hiring across
technology and top-level positions at a time when a few Indian
startups are laying off hundreds of workers to reduce expenses.
    Zypp said it is looking to be profitable in the next 12-18
months.
 (Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; editing by Eileen
Soreng)
 ((Praveen.Paramasivam@thomsonreuters.com; +91 867-525-3569;))