On-demand fuel delivery startups are seeing a revival in demand, led by the rapid expansion of data centres, which require reliable and uninterrupted backup power. Industry executives said the segment, which struggled to scale earlier, is now finding a stable revenue stream as digital infrastructure grows on the back of cloud adoption, artificial intelligence workloads and rising Internet usage.
“Data centres contribute about 10-25% of revenues, but their value goes beyond volumes, with better stability, retention and pricing,” Aditi Bhosale Walunj, co-founder of Repos Energy, told Fe. Founded in 2017, the Ratan Tata-backed firm reports annual revenue of about Rs 200 crore. She said data centres are emerging as a strategic anchor segment for fuel delivery firms.
78 active doorstep fuel delivery startups
According to Tracxn, India has 78 active doorstep fuel delivery startups, which together have raised about $132 million in equity funding over the past 15 years. Key players include The Fuel Delivery, Repos Energy, FuelBuddy, Humsafar, Pepfuels, MyPetrolPump and Anytime Diesel.
While several companies initially targeted retail consumers during the pandemic, most have since shifted to business clients in sectors such as construction, healthcare, telecom, manufacturing and housing societies, where uninterrupted fuel supply is critical.
Data centres, however, are emerging as a high-growth vertical. “Demand for reliable diesel backup has become mission-critical for hyperscalers and enterprise data centres,” Sunil Maddala, India CEO at FuelBuddy, said. The segment currently contributes about 5% of FuelBuddy’s revenue, but the company expects this share to rise as capacity expands.
India has about 301 data centres across 33 markets, according to DataCentreMap. “India’s IT load capacity stood at 1.4 GW in the second quarter of 2025 and is expected to double in two years,” Somdutta Singh, founder and CEO of Assiduus Global, said. This growth is likely to drive demand for dependable fuel supply, particularly for backup power systems, she added.
Industry executives said growth in e-commerce is also supporting demand. The market is projected to expand from $125 billion in 2024 to $345 billion by 2030, increasing fuel requirements for logistics and delivery fleets.
Fuel delivery firms are positioning themselves as end-to-end energy distribution platforms, sourcing from oil marketing companies such as Indian Oil and BPCL, and offering app-based tracking, automated procurement and IoT-enabled dispensing systems. These technologies help reduce pilferage risks and improve delivery accuracy.
“There is a clear shift towards outsourcing fuel management for efficiency and convenience,” Walunj said, adding that distributed demand from construction and industrial projects is also supporting growth.