Exponent Energy secures USD 5 million in pre-Series-A funding round

Technology start-up Exponent Energy said on Wednesday it has secured USD 5 million in a pre-Series-A round of funding led by existing investor YourNest VC, as it looks to offer a 15-minute rapid charge in the market by early 2022.

The latest round of funding also saw the participation of global automotive component supplier Motherson Group, the platform said in a statement.

The company will use the fresh capital to begin commercial operations and scale it across multiple cities starting with Bengaluru from early next year, hire across product and engineering teams as well as double down on its software products, it said.

Led by Bengaluru-based EV maker Ather Energy former CPO Arun Vinayak and Sanjay Byalal, his colleague at Ather Energy and a former HUL supply chain and operations manager, Exponent Energy aims to simplify energy for electric vehicles, according to the statement.

The company claims to develop a battery pack 'E-pack' and charging station 'E-pump' that together unlock a zero to 100 per cent rapid charge within 15 minutes for EVs with any number of wheels.

Exponent Energy has raised USD 5 million in a pre-Series A round and is set to offer a 15-minute rapid charge in the market by early 2022, the company said in the statement.

It also said that the existing investors -- YourNest VC, 3one4 Capital & AdvantEdge VC -- doubled down on their earlier investment within eight months as the new round witnessed the participation of Motherson Group.

''We're excited to deepen our partnership with our existing investors who've watched us build from scratch. Motherson coming on board adds immense value to scale with respect to OEM (original equipment manufacturer) relationships and manufacturing partnerships,'' said its co-founder and CEO Arun Vinayak.

Given the demand witnessed for the platform's rapid charging technology in the logistics space, ''we prioritised closing the pre-Series-A to enter the market by early 2022'', he added.

For nearly a decade, stakeholders have come together to solve the drivetrains of the EV ecosystem, getting the 0-1 shift done and dusted for EV (electric vehicle) adoption, he said.

Vinayak added that to unlock scale, the 1-100 journey needs energy partnerships crafted in a way that creates a win-win-win scenario for the consumer, the vehicle manufacturer and the charging station partner.

''At Exponent, we are creating that deeper impact for everyone to scale exponentially,'' Arun Vinayak emphasised.

Exponent Energy said it is unlocking the scale for EVs by simplifying the otherwise complicated, expensive and slow 'EV energytrain', the flow of energy between the charger and battery, in India.

Currently, according to Arun Vinayak, EVs take anywhere between 4-8 hours to charge with batteries that last around 1,000 cycles, creating a broken energy ecosystem.

Long charge times lead to poor charging station utilisation, making them unprofitable as a business, and leading to a scarce network presence. Slow charging leads to larger unoptimised batteries to combat range anxiety, making the vehicle bulky and expensive, he said.

A short battery life drives battery pack financing sky high, further adding pressure to the end consumer and hampering EV adoption, he said adding, ''Exponent aims to simplify all of this by making energy for EVs seamless, instantaneous and affordable.'' ''As the auto industry adopts EVs, we want to remain a key player and partnering with start-ups like Exponent gives us a head start to be able to build offerings that help us to continue to expand and achieve our broader vision,'' said Laksh Vaaman Sehgal, vice-chairman of Motherson Group, on the company's investment in Exponent Energy.

Wide-scale adoption of EVs will be limited due to the prolonged charging hours and restricted charging infrastructure, said YourNest VC Managing Director Sunil Goyal.

''Exponent Energy has developed the much-needed proprietary rapid charging battery and infrastructure technology to provide a seamless and rapid charging experience of 'recharge like you refuel'.

''With this round of investment, the company plans to enter and become a dominant player in the market to make our world sustainable,'' Goyal added. PTI IAS HRS hrs

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)