Lightspeed and 3one4 Capital-backed battery charging startup Exponent Energy has raised ₹200 crore (around $21.1 million) in an extension to its Series B round as it shifts from building technology to scaling commercial operations across the fast-growing electric vehicle market. The round was co-led by 360 ONE Asset and TDK Ventures, with participation from Germany-based Hitachi Ventures. This marks 360 ONE Asset's maiden investment in the EV sector and Hitachi Ventures' first investment in the energy sector in India. The round saw participation from all of Exponent's existing investors, including Eight Roads Ventures, Lightspeed, 3one4 Capital and AdvantEdge VC. With the new round, the company has raised a total of $65.7 million since inception, with YourNest investing $4 million through its Continuum Fund as the company's first institutional backer.
With R&D largely behind it, the company is redirecting capital into two growth vectors: expanding its fast-charging network across cities and highways, and building a retrofitting vertical that electrifies older three-wheeler vehicles. The company has identified 10,000 km of highway for electrification, targeting 1.6-MW charging stations capable of delivering a 15-minute top-up for EV buses doing inter-city routes. Exponent Energy currently operates recharging platforms across four cities: Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Delhi, with plans to scale in Ahmedabad and Chennai, and expand into Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune and Kochi. The company currently has 68 stations in Bengaluru, 18 in Chennai, 62 in Delhi and 10 in Ahmedabad.
In FY25, Exponent Energy's revenue jumped 84% to ₹44 crore while losses narrowed to ₹64 crore from ₹192 crore a year ago, signalling improving unit economics as the company prepares for rapid growth over the next two to three years. The company focuses on providing electric vehicle charging platforms for three-wheelers and has recently begun tying up with original equipment manufacturers to fit their batteries on EV buses. On the three-wheeler side, Exponent's platform business, which bundles new vehicle sales through a recently announced partnership with Atul Auto alongside its retrofit offering, is expected to contribute 70 to 75% of total three-wheeler revenue.
According to founder and CEO Arun Vinayak, the company's focus has evolved beyond battery technology to building a broader energy ecosystem that includes partnerships with OEMs and energy financing capabilities. "We pioneered rapid charging globally and remain the leader in energy technology for commercial vehicles. Millions of charging sessions and more than three years of field performance later, we have proven this isn't a lab concept — it's a road reality, at price points and reliability that matter," Vinayak stated. The company's ambition extends beyond charging to becoming the preferred energy partner for original equipment manufacturers in India, building an integrated ecosystem combining its proprietary energy stack, Exponent OTO mobility platform, and Exponent ONE financing and asset-management arm to address three major barriers to commercial EV adoption simultaneously: energy, vehicles and access to capital.
Sumit Jain, Head of Venture Growth Investments at 360 ONE Asset, emphasized that "Exponent is solving the hard problems in commercial EV adoption — balance between cost, practicality and ability for operators to access the incredible TCO advantage offered by the EV paradigm — all through its full-stack ultra fast-charging platform that spans both battery and a purpose-built charging ecosystem." Tobias Jahn from Hitachi Ventures highlighted that "Exponent sells fleet uptime and energy charging — their complete battery and charging stack is what guarantees that promise. That full-stack proprietary solution is what builds the moat, and the recurring revenue flywheel from here is what makes this a genuinely exciting EV charging investment." The fresh capital will accelerate Exponent's expansion into new cities and vehicle categories and deepen investment in research and development capabilities, positioning the company to power millions of commercial vehicles across India and make electric mobility a more rapid, reliable and affordable energy choice than petroleum.
