Indiaâs Yulu raises $93M as quick-commerce boom fuels e-bike demand
As Indiaâs quick-commerce platforms race to deliver everything from groceries to smartphones in minutes, electric mobility startup Yulu has seized the boom, raising $93 million
As Indiaâs quick-commerce platforms race to deliver everything from groceries to smartphones in minutes, electric mobility startup Yulu has seized the boom, raising $93 million in fresh funding. The Bengaluruâbased startup offers electric twoâwheelers on weekly subscription plans, so delivery drivers can jump straight into the platform, without buying their own vehicle. With around 50,000 electric vehicles in its fleet, Yulu reports that it logs about 1.6 million miles each week and powers more than 750,000 deliveries a day. The new funding will let Yulu grow that fleet to 200,000 bikes in the next two years and launch faster electric two-wheelers aimed at different logistics use cases. The Series C round comprised $63 million in equity led by GEF Capital Partners and $30 million in debt financing. About $5.5 million of the equity component was used to buy shares from seed investors whose funds were nearing the end of their investment life, co-founder and CEO Amit Gupta said in an interview.
The deal valued Yulu at about $170 million post-money, people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. Gupta declined to comment when asked about the valuation and did not dispute the figure. Existing investors Bajaj Auto and Magna International did not participate in the round after waiving their pre-emptive rights, allowing GEF to acquire its target ownership stake, Gupta said. He added that the startup expects this to be its final equity fundraising before an eventual public listing, with future fleet expansion financed primarily through debt and lease financing. The business moves toward becoming profitable before interest and taxes next year, after achieving positive EBITDA last financial year, Gupta told TechCrunch. The startup also saw its revenue growing seven-fold between fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2026, he said, without sharing specifics. The COVID shift Founded as a bike-sharing startup for urban commuters in 2017, Yulu found its biggest opportunity during the COVID-19 pandemic as demand for food and grocery deliveries accelerated.
Today, Gupta told TechCrunch that about 95% of Yuluâs revenue comes from renting electric bikes to gig workers on weekly subscriptions, while the rest is generated by its stationâbased rental service in Bengaluru. The startup has also dropped an earlier plan to sell bikes directly to consumers. To fuel its next growth phase, Yulu is introducing a full-sized, higherâspeed electric scooter, called Yulu Express. This is designed for longerâhaul eâcommerce deliveries, bike taxis, and express parcel services â the areas its slower fleet could not previously cover. About a third of the planned 200,000âvehicle fleet will be made up of this new model, Gupta said. While Yuluâs current lowâspeed fleet is built by Bajaj Auto, the new highâspeed scooter comes from a different Indian manufacturer â Gupta declined to name it. About 500 of the new bikes are already running in Bengaluru and are being trialed in three additional cities, Gupta told TechCrunch.
The BriefWire