Pune-based EV startup Ashnni Motors raises $244,000 in pre-seed round
- ByStartupStory | May 13, 2023
Pune-based electric vehicle (EV) startup, Ashnni Motors, has raised $244,000 (Rs 2 crore) in a pre-seed funding round led by WealthTrust Capital Services. The funds will be used to produce the first batch of first-generation vehicles and in-house production of Li-ion battery packs. WealthTrust investors Pushpak Ranka, Dawson Menezes, Sneha Jain, and Alisha Poonawalla Menezes also participated in the funding round. Founded in 2017 by Vishal Mali and Subodh Karunasagar, Ashnni Motors designs, engineers and manufactures purpose-built EV fleets.
“We plan to go beyond the micro-mobility aspect with a more decentralised approach by serving individual business needs,” said Vishal Mali, Co-founder and CEO of Ashnni Motors. “Our vehicles and batteries are highly reliable and can perform under extreme conditions.”
The company completed a pilot of 100,000 km with last-mile delivery companies, local distributors and shop owners. “Because we’ve conducted the pilots with our customers extensively, our product and technology platform has gotten more mature due to this direct feedback loop from the end users,” said Subodh Karunasagar, Co-founder and CTO of Ashnni Motors.
The startup received a product development grant from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India in 2021 and was part of the Climate Collective accelerator programme.
“We will be shipping the batch of first-generation vehicles from our new facility to our early customers who have been part of our pilot and have been eagerly awaiting, by August this year,” said Mali.
The newly built facility in Chakan, Pune, began operations in January 2023 and was inaugurated by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari last year. Ashnni Motors’ goal is to enable small and large businesses to create their own EV fleets according to specific requirements for last-mile delivery purposes or daily utility needs.
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