Yulu raises funds $93 million round of equity and debt for expansion, new business

Yulu, a mobility-as-a-service startup platform, raised $87.5 million as part of its Series C round in a mix of equity and debt to expand its electric vehicle operations, the company said on Wednesday.

“Over the next two years, we plan to quadruple the number of vehicles on the road from 50,000 to 200,000,” company co-founder and chief executive Amit Gupta said in an interview with Mint. “A portion of those vehicles will be bought through the equity we've raised, but the rest through debt or leasing.”

Of the $93 million round, $57.5 million came from global private equity firm GEF Capital Partners, which focuses on backing companies combating climate change and pollution.

A secondary component of $5.5 million from GEF gave some of the company’s early institutional investors an exit, according to Gupta. Among the investors in Yulu's $2.62 million seed round in 2017 were Firebolt Ventures, 3one4 Capital, Wavemaker Partners, Blume Ventures and Incubate Fund Asia.

The 2017 round saw participation from angel investors as well, including Freshworks' Girish Mathrubootham, Flipkart's Binny Bansal and InMobi Group's Naveen Tiwari.

Debt of $30 million was raised from two European lenders that Gupta declined to identify, citing non-disclosure agreements.

Venture capital and private equity firms have become increasingly bullish on India's energy transition market, ranging from electric vehicles to energy storage solutions. This even as funding into the sector has fallen consistently since 2023, when it stood at $3.12 billion across 279 deals. The sector has raised $1.6 billion across 101 deals so far this year.

Nonetheless, global investment firm Brookfield said last month it would deploy $600 million through a renewable energy platform for solar, wind and battery storage projects. Transition VC, an energy-focused fund, announced a ₹1,500 crore second fund, almost double its maiden ₹800 crore investment vehicle.

Yulu’s fundraise comes just over a year after it closed its Series B round. Last year, it raised an extension to its Series B at $11.3 million, led by Magna International. Overall, Yulu raised $113.6 million as part of its Series B round, setting its post-money valuation at $222 million, according to startup intelligence platform Tracxn.

Market expansion

The Bengaluru-based EV startup operates in 12 cities—through four company-owned entities across Bengaluru, Mumbai, the National Capital Region and Hyderabad, and eight franchises in regional markets.

“Over the next 12 months, we should be live in 20 cities through a combination of company-owned and franchises,” said Gupta.

The new cities will be chosen based on delivery-density data from quick-commerce partners and bike taxis and not through a fixed regional strategy, given that the company is launching a new business vertical called Yulu Express.

Yulu Express

Yulu launched its new business vertical via a pilot of 500 e-bikes last year, and with the new infusion of capital, plans to scale it up. This business, instead of catering to quick-commerce gig workers, will focus on e-commerce logistics, bike taxis and express parcel delivery, extending beyond the low-speed two-wheelers in its core fleet.

Even though it’s a new business line, Gupta said the fundamental strategies don't shift, just that a new market is being targeted.

“My customer remains the gig worker. Platforms are my partners who bring me demand,” Gupta said. “This actually leads us to be a zero CAC business.”

CAC, or customer acquisition cost, is the combined sales and marketing effort needed to win new paying customers over a time period. Lower CAC means less money spent and better unit economics.

For the time being, Yulu plans to roll out Express where it already has the infrastructure before starting in new markets. After two years, Gupta said he expects two-thirds of the startup's fleet to consist of its core low-speed Dex delivery vehicles, and the remainder will consist of its mid-speed ones.

“But this number is more of an outcome rather than the plan,” said Gupta.

Milestones before IPO

Yulu ended FY25 with revenue of $28.6 million versus $14.8 million in the prior fiscal. It trimmed its loss to $14.9 million from $17.3 million in FY24.

Starting April last year, Gupta said the company had become Ebitda-positive, and the goal is to achieve profit after tax before the company heads for the public markets. Ebitda is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Though Gupta declined to provide a timeline for a public listing, he said Yulu has been advised to hit certain milestones first.

“We've been told that our revenue should be between ₹1,200-1,500 crore so that we can be at about a billion dollars in terms of valuation.”