BluSmart, a startup in electric mobility based in Delhi NCR, has achieved an impressive milestone by reaching an annual run rate (ARR) of INR 500 crore ($60 million) in FY24, marking a remarkable growth of 102% compared to the previous year. Over the past three years, BluSmart has experienced extraordinary growth in its gross business value (GBV), boasting a staggering Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 300%. This growth is credited to BluSmart's exceptional customer service, evidenced by its 4.9/5 star rating. Their pioneering initiatives such as zero cancellations, punctual arrivals, and eco-friendly cabs have resonated well with customers. Anmol Singh Jaggi, one of BluSmart's co-founders, expressed optimism about the surge in demand for sustainable mobility solutions, emphasizing their commitment to expanding the electric vehicle fleet and charging infrastructure to meet the escalating needs of their expanding customer base. This significant achievement follows BluSmart's recent announcement of plans to secure $25 million (approximately INR 208 crore) in funding from responsAbility Investments AG, a Switzerland-based impact investor, in a mezzanine structure. Founded in 2019 by Jaggi and Punit K Goyal, BluSmart operates EV ride-hailing services and charging infrastructure across Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, and other major Indian cities. Since its inception, BluSmart has steadily grown its fleet and aims to achieve a fleet size of 10,000 EVs by the end of 2024. The company boasts the largest EV fleet in South Asia, with over 7,300 vehicles covering approximately 460 million clean kilometers, resulting in a saving of 34 million kilograms of CO2 emissions. Competing against players like Lithium, eee-Taxi, Snap-E Cabs, Ola, and Uber, BluSmart has garnered investment from notable firms including Alteria Capital, BlackSoil, Stride Ventures, Mumbai Angels, BP Ventures, and LetsVenture. Despite robust business growth, BluSmart faced a widening consolidated net loss in FY22, increasing by 66% year-on-year to INR 65.5 crore, primarily due to rising expenses. Indian EV startups are gaining momentum among investors by offering various services such as sustainable mobility, energy infrastructure, commercial mobility, and battery management systems, contributing to a reduction in carbon emissions and providing cost-effective alternatives to fossil fuels.

Mukund Barsagade, formerly the chief financial officer at Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), has transitioned to fintech firm Lendingkart as the group CFO. In his new role, Barsagade will oversee finance, capital markets, legal, and secretarial functions, contributing significantly to the company's growth trajectory. Having joined PPBL in September 2022, Barsagade brought extensive experience in financial management to the table. Prior to his tenure at PPBL, he served as CFO at Utkarsh Small Finance Bank and Fino Payments Bank, and held leadership positions at notable organizations such as GE Capital, Experian, and Transamerica. Expressing his enthusiasm for the new opportunity, Barsagade highlighted the dynamic landscape of lending technology for MSMEs and emphasized his commitment to simplifying financial processes for businesses nationwide. Harshvardhan Lunia, founder and CEO of Lendingkart Group, underscored Barsagade's pivotal role in elevating the company's performance, emphasizing his determination to drive progress within the organization. Established in 2014 and headquartered in Ahmedabad, Lendingkart specializes in providing working capital loans to MSMEs through co-lending partnerships with banks and NBFCs such as Aditya Birla Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited, PNB, and IDFC First, in addition to its in-house non-banking finance company.

Bengaluru-based Cropin Technology on Wednesday announced that it singed a Memorandum of Understanding with Amazon Web Services India to build solutions to address global hunger and food insecurity. The company says this will help it develop core data architecture, analytics, modelling and simulation components to aggregate global farmland data and climate intelligence into its solution. This is aimed at providing information to governments, development agencies and agriculture businesses. “We can analyse and identify changes in cultivation patterns at a country scale, spanning from sowing to harvesting. This includes examining weather parameters, moisture availability, and disease outbreaks at scale to understand their impact on crop health and yield. These insights are crucial for policymakers, enabling them to make informed decisions to combat hunger and ensure food security,” said Krishna Kumar, co-founder and CEO of Cropin, in a press statement.