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As India\u2019s quick-commerce platforms race to deliver everything from groceries to smartphones in minutes, electric mobility startup Yulu<\/a> has seized the boom, raising $93 million in fresh funding.<\/p>\n The Bengaluru\u2011based startup offers electric two\u2011wheelers on weekly subscription plans, so delivery drivers can jump straight into the platform, without buying their own vehicle. With around 50,000 electric vehicles in its fleet, Yulu reports that it logs about 1.6\u202fmillion miles each week and powers more than 750,000 deliveries a day. The new funding will let Yulu grow that fleet to 200,000 bikes in the next two years and launch faster electric two-wheelers aimed at different logistics use cases.<\/p>\n The Series C round comprised $63 million in equity led by GEF Capital Partners and $30 million in debt financing. About $5.5 million of the equity component was used to buy shares from seed investors whose funds were nearing the end of their investment life, co-founder and CEO Amit Gupta said in an interview.<\/p>\n The deal valued Yulu at about $170 million post-money, people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. Gupta declined to comment when asked about the valuation and did not dispute the figure.<\/p>\n Existing investors Bajaj Auto and Magna International did not participate in the round after waiving their pre-emptive rights, allowing GEF to acquire its target ownership stake, Gupta said. He added that the startup expects this to be its final equity fundraising before an eventual public listing, with future fleet expansion financed primarily through debt and lease financing.<\/p>\n The business moves toward becoming profitable before interest and taxes next year, after achieving positive EBITDA last financial year, Gupta told TechCrunch. The startup also saw its revenue growing seven-fold between fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2026, he said, without sharing specifics.<\/p>\n Founded as a bike-sharing startup<\/a> for urban commuters in 2017, Yulu found its biggest opportunity during the COVID-19 pandemic as demand for food and grocery deliveries accelerated.<\/p>\n Today, Gupta told TechCrunch that about 95% of Yulu\u2019s revenue comes from renting electric bikes to gig workers on weekly subscriptions, while the rest is generated by its station\u2011based rental service in Bengaluru. The startup has also dropped an earlier plan to sell bikes directly to consumers.<\/p>\n To fuel its next growth phase, Yulu is introducing a full-sized, higher\u2011speed electric scooter, called Yulu Express. This is designed for longer\u2011haul e\u2011commerce deliveries, bike taxis, and express parcel services \u2014 the areas its slower fleet could not previously cover.<\/p>\n About a third of the planned 200,000\u2011vehicle fleet will be made up of this new model, Gupta said.<\/p>\n While Yulu\u2019s current low\u2011speed fleet is built by Bajaj Auto<\/a>, the new high\u2011speed scooter comes from a different Indian manufacturer \u2014 Gupta declined to name it.<\/p>\n About 500 of the new bikes are already running in Bengaluru and are being trialed in three additional cities, Gupta told TechCrunch.<\/p>\n Currently, Yulu operates in 12 Indian cities, running its own operations in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi\u2011NCR, and Hyderabad, while partnering with franchisees in eight other markets. The startup, Gupta said, aims to reach roughly 20 cities within the next year, with Chennai and Pune among the key targets for expansion.<\/p>\n Gupta stated that Yulu partners with almost every major quick\u2011commerce, food\u2011delivery, and e\u2011commerce platform \u2014 including Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart \u2014 though its customers are the gig workers who rent the bikes, not the platforms themselves. He compared Yulu\u2019s role to \u201cthe AWS of mobility,\u201d supplying the infrastructure that lets delivery workers operate without the platforms taking a cut.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\nThe COVID shift<\/h2>\n