Startup funding: Electric bike and battery startup Baaz Bikes on Tuesday announced an $8 million Series A funding round led by Singapore-based BIG Capital, with participation from Rakuten Capital, Japan-based Rakuten Group’s venture capital arm, along with participation from its existing investors Kalaari Capital, 9Unicorns, and Sumant Sinha (Chairman at renewable energy company ReNew).
Focusing on gig workers and delivery personnel working with Amazon, Zomato, Zepto etc., Baaz Bikes said it will deploy funds to strengthen and optimize product offerings, with a core emphasis on enhancing safety and promoting scalability within the gig economy.
The startup develops e-bikes and swappable batteries and is currently operational in the South Delhi Region. Baaz Bikes aims to expand across Delhi NCR in the coming 12 months.
Speaking on the fundraise, Anubhav Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, Baaz Bikes, said, “As champions of sustainable mobility, our vision revolves around delivering high-quality products and nurturing an advanced ecosystem that prioritizes safety and rider satisfaction. We take immense pride in ensuring every product and service we offer is meticulously crafted in-house to address key concerns like range anxiety, charging accessibility, and operational efficiency.”
The electric cargo bikes market over the years has gained momentum in India with an increasing focus on sustainable and green mobility along with making a positive impact in last mile mobility as well. According to the Economic Survey 2023, the domestic EV market is likely to grow by 49 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2022 and 2030, with 10 million annual sales by 2030. This is expected to generate around 50 million direct and indirect jobs by 2030.
In addition, the rise in the gig workforce in the country on the back of growing platforms offering online delivery services across verticals such as food, e-commerce, pharma, courier, and more, has also added to the demand for electric bikes. Think tank Niti Aayog in June last year had estimated 23.5 million gig workers by 2029-30, up by nearly 200 per cent from 7.7 million.
“We are delighted to join Baaz Bikes in its journey to empower the gig workers earn better livelihood with a solution that is both robust and rugged to tackle the infrastructure challenges that hinder widespread adoption of EV solutions. We are firm believers that EV adoption can only be done in a closed loop environment given the constraints of charging infrastructure; in this regard Baaz Bike has the perfect solution to maximize asset and infrastructure utilization,” said Preetinder S Panjrath, CFO, BIG Capital.