In Full Blume: Funding Announcements, Global Recognition, New Milestones
Updates from the Blume team and portfolio companies
Welcome to a brand new edition of In Full Blume. This time, we’ve got a melange of updates, from new funding and acquisitions to company milestones that promise a better tomorrow. Not to forget, there are exciting new copilot announcements from Microsoft’s recent event.
Read on!
New funding
Euler Motors closes Series C with an additional ₹200 crore from Piramal, Blume Ventures, and British International Investment
Electric vehicle company Euler Motors (Blume Fund III) closed its Series C funding with an additional ₹200 crores led by internal investors, British International Investment and Blume Ventures, and new investor Piramal Alternatives India Access Fund. This brings the total funds raised in Series C to ₹570 crore.
The capital will be used to scale its presence across the country, aiming to be present in over 40 cities by FY25.
The funds will also drive product development, enhance technological capabilities, and accelerate research and development (R&D).
Saurav Kumar, Founder and CEO of Euler Motors, stated, “Our aim is to establish Euler Motors as India’s No. 1 electric commercial vehicle brand. This capital injection will propel us towards our goal of double-digit market share.”
Since its inception in 2018, Euler Motors has been on a remarkable journey. The company sold 3,700 vehicles and expanded from 5 to 22 cities in FY24. In February, it emerged as the #2 player in the three-wheeler electric cargo category, surpassing well-established brands.
Indeed, electrifying times for Euler Motors!
Read more about the round here.
Niqo Robotics’ $13 million Series B harvest
Agriculture robotics startup Niqo Robotics (Blume Fund III) raised $13 million in Series B funding led by Bidra Innovation Ventures, with significant participation from Fulcrum Global Capital and existing investor Omnivore participated significantly.
The startup uses proprietary AI tech with deep learning models to identify and selectively spray on target plants, reducing chemical usage by up to 90%. Niqo has commercialized over 90,000 acres of land, demonstrating real-time savings of up to 60% on chemicals for farmers.
“With the Series B fund closure, we are strengthened by a syndicate of investors with deep agricultural expertise from three continents,” said Jaisimha Rao, Founder and CEO, Niqo Robotics. “With their backing, we will expand to new markets and accelerate global spot spray adoption," he added.
Company Milestones
Aerem acquires Spinkraft Ventures to build a full-stack solar platform
Aerem Solutions (Blume Fund IV), an end-to-end platform specializing in distributed solar, solar loans, and solar tech solutions, acquired Spinkraft Ventures Private Limited, a prominent solar equipment distributor.
Founded in 2021 by Pravesh Bhargava, Ajay Patel, and Acharan Chandel, Spinkraft Ventures will now operate under Aerem.
This acquisition aligns with Aerem’s mission to establish India’s only comprehensive solar platform, making solar energy more accessible and driving significant change.
Carbon Clean ‘captures’ success
Carbon Clean (Blume Fund I), a leader in carbon capture solutions, has achieved a fabrication milestone on Ørsted’s FlagshipONE project, Europe’s largest commercial-scale eMethanol facility under construction.
The first equipment has been mounted on the structural steel of the first module, marking the start of the module assembly process. Once operational, Carbon Clean’s technology will capture 70,000 tonnes of biogenic CO2 annually for Ørsted’s facility in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden.
FlagshipONE will supply up to 55,000 tonnes of eMethanol per year to the shipping industry, which accounts for about 3% of global carbon emissions.
Battery Smart powers up
Battery Smart (Blume Fund IV), a battery swapping network for electric two and three-wheelers, inaugurated its 1000th swap station.
Since launching Battery Smart’s first swap station in Janakpuri, New Delhi, in June 2020, the company has rapidly scaled to 1000 stations across 30 cities, completing over 35 million swaps.
The company is on a mission to build the densest network of swap stations, ensuring that EV users are within a 1 km radius of a station and have zero wait time.
Big gun ‘Atoms’ join Atomicwork
Atomicwork (Blume fund IV), a conversational ITSM software and AI service desk platform provider has been on a hiring spree.
Lenin Gali has joined Atomicwork as Chief Digital and Business Officer and will shape the company’s business strategy, thought leadership, CXO engagement, and GTM partnerships.
Lenin is a veteran leader with over 25 years of experience in the tech industry, holding pivotal roles at Cornerstone Brands, ShareThis, Ubisoft, and Quotient Technology.
Aaron Suarez-Lopez, a seasoned sales leader who has worked at Freshworks, Aisera, and Verkada, has joined as the company’s first US Director of Enterprise Sales.
#MSBuild and Copilots
LambdaTest launches GitHub Copilot extension for developer productivity
LambdaTest launched an extension for GitHub Copilot that revolutionizes how developers manage and execute test workflows in IDE.
With the LambdaTest extension, developers can start tests easily with a simple command, bringing testing closer to their code. This saves time and enhances collaboration among development and testing teams by providing a unified platform for managing software releases faster.
LambdaTest’s Copilot Extension is one of the few that shared the spotlight in the recent Microsoft Build 2024 event.
Atomicwork shares the big stage
Our portfolio company, Atomicwork (Blume Fund IV), was recently featured alongside the most innovative companies at the prestigious Microsoft Build 2024. This global recognition underscores the company's potential to drive innovation in the industry.
“Good to see @atomicworkhq in the company of grownups at #MSBuild main stage and excited to help emerging enterprises in automating their internal workflows for enterprise productivity.
Loving the AI ecosystem approach and accelerated innovation from @Microsoft for its customers and partners. Let's get ready for the Copilot+ world,” tweeted Vijay Rayapati, CEO of Atomicwork.
Leading with Thought Leadership
It’s time to register for LambdaTest’s Testμ Conference 2024
LambdaTest (Blume Fund III) is back with the biggest event in the software testing industry - the Testμ Conference 2024, on August 21-23.
The online conference is one of the biggest testing conferences worldwide, bringing together the industry's brightest minds and strongest voices on one platform.
The conference is a must for anyone in the software-testing industry, as it promises:
Global networking with over 50,000 testers and developers from 120+ countries.
Expert Insights from 60+ renowned speakers through 35+ sessions.
Interactive learning with hands-on workshops, tutorials, and live demos on cutting-edge testing tools and techniques.
Challenges like the Test-a-thon and prizes up to $10,000.
All that's left is to register!
SORM Storm is here!
WebEngage recently released its State of Retention Marketing (SORM) quarterly edition. It is a one-of-a-kind retention-first magazine that deconstructs customer retention through riveting stories, use cases, puzzles, comics, and more.
WebEngage's SORM channels have over 100K subscribers, providing unique access to experienced retention marketing leaders and practitioners globally. The quarterly magazines are based on interviews, podcasts, surveys, and op-ed pieces to bring customer retention insights that matter to the readers.
Browse/listen/read/download here.
The world is talking
Fortunate to have two Fortune 40 Under 40 portfolio companies
It is no secret that we back trailblazers.
This time around, B2B edtech company Classplus’s co-founders Mukul Rustagi and Bhaswat Agarwal (Blume Fund III) and Battery Smart’s co-founders Pulkit Khurana and Siddharth Sikka have been named in the coveted Fortune 40 Under 40 list.
We couldn’t be prouder!
Turtlemint’s Dhirendra Mahyavanshi in Entrepreneur India’s Fintech 50 2024
Turtlemint (Blume Fund I) has played a pivotal role in increasing insurance accessibility across India. It is now expanding its product range and forging new partnerships with businesses in India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
The "Turtlefin" suite of digital tools empowers partner companies to streamline insurance quotes and issuance, enhance customer interactions, and offer customized products tailored to consumer needs.
This pioneering work has earned Dhirendra Mahyavanshi and Turtlemint a place in Entrepreneur India’s Fintech 50 2024. Proud!
Jai Ho to Jai Kisan’s Arjun!
Arjun Ahluwalia, CEO of rural fintech company Jai Kisan (Blume Fund III), started the company in 2017 after seeing his househelp's struggles with borrowing money to buy a phone from a private finance firm.
After learning about the difficulties Indian farmers face with moneylenders and loan sharks in the black market, he spent six months researching a Maharashtra village. He persuaded his American friend Adriel Maniego to join him. This led to what is today a juggernaut in the agri fintech space.
Here’s Arjun’s profile in DNA.
Routematic goes for a drive
Forbes India recently featured Sriram Kannan’s gritty story of building Routematic (Blume Fund I), car by car, in the face of many obstacles.
While the Pandemic forced many corporate ride businesses to quit, Sriram and Routematic doubled down. Routematic has grown over seven times since then and today proudly transports over 3 lakh employees of 175+ companies.
Blume Ventures Corner
Blume Eldercare Bluprint
In April 2023, India surpassed China to become the world’s most populous country. While India will continue to be a relatively ‘young’ country for years to come, India’s elderly population (aged 60 years old and above) of ~145 million is growing — both in population size and wallet size. The elderly population will grow by ~40% in 2021 – 31 compared to ~8% for the general population in the same period.
In the Eldercare Bluprint, we explore the seniors’ pain points, the decision-making process, how the businesses in this sector serve them, and opportunities.
Download the report here.
Forbes India’s feature on Blume Ventures
Forbes India’s Neha Bothra sits down with Karthik Reddy, co-founder and partner Blume Ventures, to talk about all things Blume.
The interview covers various topics, from the fund’s inception to how founders and investors cross the maze of value creation from seed to scale. Neha and Karthik also talk about the apparent randomness of success in VC investing.
Blume in the Bay Area
We recently co-hosted a Climate Change and Deep Tech meet-up in Menlo Park.
The event covered the fast-growing and impactful world of EVs, green hydrogen, carbon capture, battery innovation, and related areas. The roundtable discussion invited feedback and ideas from around the table, touching upon all these aspects and showcasing India's growing and dominant role in shaping global impact.
Know more about the event here.
We (and our dear Blumiers) also participated in Tim Draper's Draper Summit, where we got to hear San Francisco 49ers quarterback legend Joe Montana share his story.
A few highlights from his speech include:
Team members help each other be their best (offensive tackles bear the brunt of full force, enabling wide receivers to score touchdowns).
Champions *work as hard in training* as on the field (extra tryouts, studying film of teams, true of all sports greats).
Spend as much time with the people you back as on the tech (how coaches figure out best & worst player positions).
Know more about the event here.
Blume documents and share their progress and updates, it's such a good practice.