: RACEnergy and Cell Propulsion are the two shortlisted start-ups who have been brought onto their portfolio
Huddle, a startup incubator and accelerator, in partnership with growX ventures, an early stage venture fund, launched India’s first acceleration program for startups in the electric vehicles industry in June 2019.
As part of the program, selected startups would be provided access to a dedicated mentor from Huddle, seed investment led by growX ventures and business development and relevant pilot opportunities with companies such as Exide, TATA and Swiggy to name a few partner organisations that were supporting the Huddle - growX EV accelerator.
After evaluating over 170 applications from Indian start-ups building solutions in segments within EV like charging infrastructure, battery swapping, micro mobility, electric vehicle components and data analytics solutions, Huddle and growX have announced RACEnergy and Cell Propulsion as the two shortlisted start-ups who have been brought onto their portfolio and will undergo the acceleration program.
Founded by BITS Pilani graduates Arun Shreyas and Gautam M, RACEnergy is building a high performance retrofit kit for converting existing three wheelers autos to electric and providing energy infrastructure support through its proprietary battery swapping stations. “Electric vehicle adoption has been the greatest in the three-wheeler segment in India but only for low-speed vehicles or electric rickshaws. High-speed three wheelers still remain unaffordable for the bulk of drivers and the supply is limited,” said Sanil Sachar, partner at Huddle. “RACEnergy will enable auto drivers to transition to electric, thereby allowing them to drive more, reduce operating costs and earn more per ride.” The startup has received funding from growX Ventures, Prophetic Ventures and other prolific angel investors; as they kick start their association with Huddle and growX.
The second shortlisted startup is Cell Propulsion, which is building an integrated electric powertrain for light commercial and heavy commercial vehicles adapted for Indian climatic conditions. Most manufacturers rely on imports for fulfilling their supply chain needs for electric vehicles. Cell Propulsion aims to provide an indigenous solution by providing durable, affordable and customized products in India. Founded by Nakul Kukar, Supratim Naskar, Paras Kaushal and Sridhar Ramasubban, Cell Propulsion has successfully completed the conversion of a diesel bus to electric in a pilot with Bangalore Municipal Transportation Corporation (BMTC). The Bangalore-based startup also counts Endiya Partners as one of its investors.
Huddle announced that it is still in conversation with startups to accelerate as part of the program which they have stated will be an ongoing process for them, as they focus on startups building solutions unique to India. “There is no universal playbook for electric vehicles and solutions that have worked well in developed countries cannot be copy-pasted to India.” said Ishaan Khosla, partner at Huddle. “Both RACEnergy and Cell Propulsion have an in-depth understanding of India ecosystem and we are proud to be partners in their respective visions”.
Apart from the two startups shortlisted as part of venturing into the EV sector, Huddle has also incubated companies such as leading health super food startup Ketofy, blockchain company 1Ramp, data over sound technology company Trillbit, and a portfolio of over 20 ventures, that include several that have successfully raised funding and traction across their sectors. Delhi-based growX ventures is a deep technology fund that focused on seed and pre-series A investments. Its portfolio includes companies such as Locus, Meddo, Progcap and Advantage Club among others.
About Huddle:
Huddle is one of India’s leading sector-agnostic incubators working with startups across industries, with the primary focus of working closely with the founders of each venture and supporting them through the business functions that require assistance in order to get them to the next stage of their business life cycle.
In order to do so, Huddle provides each startup brought on board a dedicated Huddle mentor, therefore following a methodology of one mentor - one mentee. In order to provide contextual support to each startup, Huddle's mentor base consists of 35 industry-specific experts from around the country, that are either leading entrepreneurs or CXO's of large corporations, with a common interest and expertise in having worked with startups as mentors and investors.
Headquartered in Cyber City, Gurugram, Huddle’s incubation has grown ventures across India.
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