Bengaluru-based electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure startup REVOS has raised a USD 4 million check as part of its Series A round from American investment firm Union Square Ventures (USV) and Indian early-stage VC Prime Venture Partners.
The four-year-old startup provides a smart platform to track, monitor, and control connected two- and three-wheeler EV vehicles and is building a peer-to-peer charging network for EVs.
REVOS will use the fresh funds to deploy EV chargers across the country and further strengthen its technology team, it said in a statement on Thursday. Over the next three years, the startup plans to “expand its charging network to 1 million chargers in 500 cities across India and other emerging markets.” It will also hire aggressively across all business functions in the next few months, the company added.
Since the startup launched its smart platform for EVs in 2019, it has been used by 30 original equipment manufacturers across India, China, Vietnam, Nepal, and Egypt. REVOS is now planning to enter Europe and other parts of Southeast Asia.
REVOS marks USV’s first investment in India. The New York-headquartered VC set up a USD 162 million fund in early 2021 to invest in “companies and projects that provide mitigation for or adaptation to the climate crisis.”
“It is crucial for rapidly growing economies such as India, China, and Africa to dramatically accelerate EV adoption. To make this possible, two enabling technologies are required: an operating system (OS) and a charging network,” said Albert Wenger, managing partner at Union Square Ventures, in a statement. USV backed REVOS as it provides both of these technologies.
Founded in 2017 by Jyotiranjan Harichandan and Mohit Yadav, REVOS stands for Revolutionary EV Operating Stack—an AI-enabled platform that uses the internet of things (IoT) to make EVs smart and connected. The platform can be integrated into any EV. It enables components of an EV to communicate with each other, with the data being stored in the cloud through a live stream. The data is then aggregated and interpreted through machine learning into useful insights for EV manufacturers.
This allows EV manufacturers to build smart mobility features on-bike navigation, diagnostics, smart alerts, and anti-theft locks on top of REVOS’ proprietary software. The startup is also developing BOLT, a peer-to-peer charging infrastructure that consists of an IoT-enabled charging point compatible with any portable charger that comes with EVs in India.
“Anyone, and not just the EV owner, can buy and install BOLT to set up a charging point for drivers to use ubiquitously while also generating passive income and expanding the charging network while doing so,” the company said. “Drivers can locate the nearest charging point on the mobile app, scan through the QR code, and use the charger on demand and pay per use.”
REVOS charging infrastructure aims to build an “on-the-go” charging network that will make charging EVs easy and convenient, the company added.
Mohit Yadav, co-founder of REVOS, said in a statement that the recent fundraising is “a very important step in our journey.”
“We are focused on democratizing the technology for EVs and chargers so that anyone can build a smart EV or participate in building the P2P charging network,” he said. “We believe this will be key to the large-scale adoption of EVs in the future.”