The archive · Climate & Energy · Strategic decision · 2019–2025
Battery Smart's pay-per-swap bet: 95M swaps, 1,600 stations, EBITDA positive
Battery Smart bet e-rickshaw drivers would rent batteries, not own them; a $350K seed became 1,600+ swap stations, 90,000 drivers and EBITDA positivity.
Battery Smart
What the business is
A battery-as-a-service network: drivers of electric two- and three-wheelers swap drained lithium-ion batteries for charged ones at partner-run stations in minutes, instead of waiting through long charging sessions.
Starting capital：A $350,000 seed; about $170M raised by June 2025, including a $65M round in 2023 backed by MUFG Bank, Panasonic, Blume Ventures and British International Investment, plus over ₹1,000 Cr (~$116M) in debt to buy batteries (Entrepreneur India; Blume Ventures).
How it started
Pulkit Khurana and Siddharth Sikka met at IIT Kanpur, quit their jobs in 2019 and spent six months studying e-rickshaw economics before founding Battery Smart: millions of electric three-wheelers were already running on lead-acid batteries that had to be replaced every 6–8 months, with 10–12 hour charges buying only 50–60 km of range — expensive downtime for drivers earning up to ₹800 a day. They started in a 200 sq ft shop in Delhi's Janakpuri with a $350,000 seed, tracking battery exchanges on paper.
What happened
COVID forced the pivot that made the model work: instead of owning stations with fixed rents, the founders signed up local shopkeepers who host swapping stations and invest around ₹8 lakh each. FY25 revenue reached ₹249 Cr, up 52%, with total income of ₹279 Cr, though EBITDA was still a ₹56 Cr loss; by September 2025 the company said it had broken even and turned EBITDA positive. It raised $29M in an ongoing Series B led by Rising Tide Energy in May 2025 and a $21M extension in June 2025, and its network grew from about 1,518 stations in May (321 in Delhi alone) to more than 1,600 across 50+ cities by autumn, passing 90 million cumulative swaps.
How it ended up
Still private and scaling: after years of losses the company reported reaching EBITDA positivity in 2025, and its November 2025 impact report counted 95M+ cumulative swaps, 3.2 billion emission-free kilometres, 270,000 IoT-connected batteries, 90,000 driver customers and more than ₹2,800 Cr of cumulative driver earnings. Expansion into new markets continues, funded by roughly $170M of disclosed funding plus debt used to own batteries outright.
Background
Battery Smart, founded in 2019 by Pulkit Khurana and Siddharth Sikka after they spent months studying e-rickshaw economics, bet that India's commercial EV drivers would pay per swap instead of owning batteries. Batteries account for 30–40% of a vehicle's cost, and charging them cost drivers hours of lost income every day, so the founders built a network where drivers buy the vehicle but rent the battery.
The founders started in a 200 sq ft shop in Delhi's Janakpuri with a $350,000 seed and six employees, but COVID forced the decisive pivot: rather than owning charging stations with fixed rents, they recruited local shopkeepers as station partners. Partners invest roughly ₹8 lakh for a three-year contract and earn revenue per swap, letting Battery Smart scale without capex on real estate — a franchise-style model for infrastructure.
The model compounded: FY25 revenue rose 52% to ₹249 Cr (total income ₹279 Cr), the network passed 1,600 stations across 50+ cities, and by September 2025 the company said it had turned EBITDA positive after reporting a ₹56 Cr EBITDA loss for FY25. Raising $29M in May 2025 (led by Rising Tide Energy) plus a $21M extension in June, Battery Smart also used debt — over ₹1,000 Cr per its investor Blume — to own the batteries outright.
By November 27, 2025, the company's impact report counted more than 95 million cumulative swaps, 3.2 billion emission-free kilometres, 270,000 IoT-connected batteries and about 90,000 driver customers, who cumulatively earned over ₹2,800 Cr. YourStory, citing Tracxn, put the company's valuation at about $451M as of May 2025 with a 36% share of India's battery-swapping segment, competing with VoltUp, SUN Mobility and Mooving.
What has to be true
- The customer economics were the wedge: drivers earned more by staying on the road, so pay-per-swap beat owning a battery for the drivers themselves.
- The partner-led station model moved capex off the startup's books — local shopkeepers invested ~₹8 lakh each, so density scaled with franchise capital instead of venture capital.
- Financing batteries with debt rather than equity matched the asset to its life: ₹1,000 Cr+ of debt-funded batteries let the company own the hardware while equity stayed efficient.
- The team rode a real trend, not a hypothetical one: millions of electric rickshaws were already on Indian roads when investors were still debating whether EVs would happen.
What can be applied
Thin-margin infrastructure works when users pay per use, local partners fund the stations, and the capital-heavy asset — the battery — is financed with debt rather than equity.
Aftermath
As of November 27, 2025, Battery Smart is still private and expanding. It says it reached EBITDA positivity in 2025 after an FY25 EBITDA loss of ₹56 Cr; its impact report shows 95M+ swaps across 1,600+ stations in 50+ cities, ~90,000 drivers and 270,000 IoT batteries, with drivers cumulatively earning ₹2,800 Cr+. YourStory (citing Tracxn) reported a ~$451M valuation as of May 8, 2025 and a 36% market share. Total funding reached ~$170M by June 2025, plus over ₹1,000 Cr of debt to buy batteries, and expansion into new cities continues.
Sources
- Battery Smart sees 52% surge in FY25 revenue
- Battery Smart hits 95 million swaps, enables 3.2 billion emission-free kilometres
- Battery Smart secures $29M in ongoing Series B round
- Battery Smart Raises USD 21 Mn in Series B Extension Led by Rising Tide Energy
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