EV charging station startup Kazam plans to expand beyond India, where it already holds a significant share of the market, and into Southeast Asia to gain an early mover’s advantage, TechCrunch has exclusively learned.
The Bengaluru-headquartered startup, which has offices in Delhi and Pune and city managers in 4,000 postal codes across India, is set to debut in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
Following the completion of a new $8 million Series A3 investment funded by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, Kazam established its roadmap, which includes the expansion. According to co-founder and CEO of Kazam, Akshay Shekhar, the company also intends to
expand further into the South Asian country by establishing a presence in new cities and developing fast chargers tailored for electric two- and three-wheelers—the segment that
currently controls the majority of the country’s EV market.
At first, Kazam intends to use its current clientele to break into the Southeast Asian market. In India, Petroliam Nasional Berhad, also known as Petronas, is a client of the startup. The
government of Malaysia owns an energy group that will assist Kazam in entering its homeland. In a similar vein, the startup is speaking with
Avaana Capital and Alteria Capital, two of Kazam’s current investors, also took part in the all-equity round. Up to now, the business has raised $13 million.
The business, which has about 160 employees, intends to bring on board product and
development specialists to support the advancement of its fast chargers and increase market interoperability. At the moment, it internally conducts R&D for its solutions and creates PCBs for
its chargers. To cut costs, the startup, however, outsources the fabrication of hardware.
Kazam’s backstory
Shekhar and his co-founder Vaibhav Tyagi (CTO) became aware of India’s dearth of household charging infrastructure during the COVID lockdown in 2020. The pair, who also had a popular
YouTube channel where they reviewed EVs, first concentrated on two- and three-wheelers. The business brought onboard fleet companies for its EV charging hardware and software after
launching in April 2021.
Making sure that every vehicle was charged for the following morning was the largest challenge for fleet operators. Key hurdles for them included unplanned power outages, drivers not
knowing how to use chargers correctly, and doubts over the legitimacy of drivers and their cars, Shekhar told TechCrunch. “So, we figured everything out, and Kazam took off.”
Soon after Kazam found success with fleet operators, its electric charging solutions drew the attention of logistic corporations, e-commerce giants, and automakers. The business created
software to offer telemetrics, insights on available charging stations, connectivity through a dashboard, and payment support in addition to developing EV chargers for a range of automobiles.
According to the CEO, Kazam’s hardware and software solutions are used by about 30 fleet firms, two of the biggest oil and gas corporations in India, and the top seven to eight car
manufacturers in the country. With more than 25,000 charging stations, the firm enables 2.5 million charging sessions annually and 15 million kilometers every month.
According to the CEO, Kazam’s hardware and software solutions are used by about 30 fleet firms, two of the biggest oil and gas corporations in India, and the top seven to eight car
manufacturers in the country. With more than 25,000 charging stations, the firm enables 2.5 million charging sessions annually and 15 million kilometers every month.
Inspired by the U.S. EV charging network provider ChargePoint, the startup counts among its clients a number of well-known companies, including e-commerce giants BigBasket and
Flipkart, automakers Ather Energy, Bajaj, Hero MotoCorp, and TVS, as well as logistics companies Lets Transport and Mahindra Logistics.
Some of these businesses utilize Kazam’s charging stations, but some of them use its charge management software explicitly. In order to allow certain manufacturers to sell its hardware
under their own brands, the firm also white labels its hardware. With its own-brand and white-labeled chargers, Kazam claims to have between 75 and 80 percent of the Indian
three-wheeler EV charging market and 40 percent of the country’s electric two-wheeler charging market.
In order to establish IS17017 as the nation’s charging standard for light-duty electric vehicles, Kazam collaborated closely with the Indian government. Furthermore, it is collaborating with a
few automakers to introduce a fast-charging technology that is compatible and can fully charge cars in 15 to 20 minutes.
We aim to begin digitizing as soon as possible. And it’s been really simple for us to incorporate
that component into the platform because we’ve already been working with the car OEMs [original equipment manufacturers], added Shekhar.
Google said last month that Kazam is one of the Indian EV charging network providers that
allows Google Maps to display two-wheeler charging locations across the nation. Although the
Indian version is the first to offer EV charging stations for two-wheelers, it is an enhancement of the functionality that was first introduced in the United States more than five years ago. In
addition, the startup joined 19 other businesses in April to offer interoperable EV charging through the Unified Energy Interface, an open energy network.
In July, Kazam reported $3.2 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and expects to close the year with $4.5–$5 million ARR. According to Shekhar, it also hopes to shortly achieve EBITDA
positivity.
Some of these businesses utilize Kazam’s charging stations, but some of them use its charge management software explicitly. In order to allow certain manufacturers to sell its hardware under their own brands, the firm also white labels its hardware. With its own-brand and white-labeled chargers, Kazam claims to have between 75 and 80 percent of the Indian
three-wheeler EV charging market and 40 percent of the country’s electric two-wheeler charging market.
In order to establish IS17017 as the nation’s charging standard for light-duty electric vehicles, Kazam collaborated closely with the Indian government. Furthermore, it is collaborating with a
few automakers to introduce a fast-charging technology that is compatible and can fully charge cars in 15 to 20 minutes.
We aim to begin digitizing as soon as possible. And it’s been really simple for us to incorporate that component into the platform because we’ve already been working with the car OEMs
[original equipment manufacturers], added Shekhar.
Google said last month that Kazam is one of the Indian EV charging network providers that
allows Google Maps to display two-wheeler charging locations across the nation. Although the Indian version is the first to offer EV charging stations for two-wheelers, it is an enhancement of the functionality that was first introduced in the United States more than five years ago. In
addition, the startup joined 19 other businesses in April to offer interoperable EV charging through the Unified Energy Interface, an open energy network.