Bengaluru-based commercial electric vehicle (EV) start-up Turno raised $13.8 million (nearly 112 crore) in a Series A funding round. The investment round was jointly led by B Capital and Quona Capital. Its existing investors Stellaris Venture Partners and Avaana Capital also took part in the round.
The company will utilise the newly generated fund to develop a battery tech platform to address problems regarding EV batteries and e-waste. Additionally, the company wants to expand its services across multiple geographies in the country.
Prior to this, the company bagged an investment of $3.1 million in a round led by Stellaris Venture Partners and Avaana Capital.
Founded in 2022, by Hemanth Aluru and Sudhindra Reddy, the company is currently present in five states that include Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Delhi NCR and Maharashtra.
Talking about the latest development, Aluru said, “Today 80-85% of India’s automotive fuel consumption is driven by commercial vehicles with internal combustion engines. Yet, there is a strong desire to transition to a green economy and so, commercial EV adoption holds significant promise. Turno was founded with the mission to convert these ‘gasoline miles’ into ‘electric miles.”
Karan Mohla, the general partner of B Capital addressed the investment by saying, “Commercial EV sales are heavily dependent on the availability of attractive financing options and today the Indian market is plagued by lack of true customer-centric options. Turno has identified a key missing element in the ecosystem that solves the problem of financing as well as distribution and servicing.”