Colossa Ventures leads Pre-Series A round in Vioma Motors with a 10% stake
- Vioma Motors to deliver an E2W offering an unparalleled range of 400 km
by Prashant Kapadia/NHN
Mumbai, 17 February 2023: Colossa Ventures LLP, focusses on investing in ‘women-first’ businesses,, leads the Pre-Series A round in Vioma Motors, an e-mobility startup, garnering a 10% stake. BRTSIF, the existing investor, is also expected to participate in this round.
Vioma Motors has developed an indigenous smart electric two-wheeler offering an unparalleled range of about 400 km on a single charge. This incomparable range is achieved by pioneering a battery technology which can generate charge while riding and contribute it back to the main battery pack, and hence provide superior characteristics compared to commonly used Lithium-ion batteries. Vioma’s two-wheeler with its energy regeneration system has been conceptualised, designed and manufactured indigenously, with low dependence on imports.
Founded in 2020 by an industrious team of Aerospace Engineers Varsha Anoop, Shomick Mohanty, Ummesalma Babuji, and tech-savvy chartered accountant Hozefa Irani, Vioma Motors addresses rising fuel rates and climate upheaval by introducing environmentally friendly, best-in-class E-scooters specifically designed to resolve the charging infrastructure problem in India.
Ashu Suyash, Founder-Colossa Ventures, said, “Varsha and her team have developed the scooter ground-up based on first principles and we are very excited to be part of Vioma’s journey as its revolutionary technology validated by ARAI disrupts the fast-growing EV market. We at Colossa are proud to back tenacious, exceptional women entrepreneurs like Varsha and help them realise their vision and growth ambitions by providing capital, expertise, and market access by leveraging our network and that of our global advisors.”
Varsha Anoop, Co-Founder & CEO of Vioma Motors, said, “Resolving Range anxiety for customers without compromising on safety and economics has been the key motivation for starting up Vioma Motors. The new investment will be utilised towards optimizing the battery pack, completing the homologation process and gearing up for commercial launch”
Shomick Mohanty, Co-Founder & CTO of Vioma Motors, said, “Our product addresses the inefficiencies that affect riding an electric vehicle, not only with our unique battery technology but also through the futuristic design of chassis, our proprietary motor technology, and the suspension energy regeneration system. Since most of the parts would be sourced in India, including the raw material for cells, the two-wheeler will also be affordable.”
The current electric automobile market in India is limited in terms of providing sufficient riding range to meet customers’ needs. This problem is further exacerbated by the lack of charging infrastructure across the country. Recent battery related fire incidents have also become a rising concern. Vioma addresses this with a metal air battery pack, which is much safer and has 5X higher power density compared to Lithium ion.
Having closed its Pre-Series A fund-raise, the Vioma Motors team plans to fast-track its development and launch of the E2W model.
About Colossa Ventures : Colossa Ventures LLP is an investments ecosystem aimed at unleashing the power of India’s women economy one venture at a time. Using the power of 3 Cs – capital, capability and confidence, Colossa will look to invest in ‘women-first’ businesses that are disrupting the status quo and shaping the future. Colossa’s vision is to create a 10x difference by investing in the growth stage of purpose led, high quality, fast growing, innovative, women-centric businesses, while creating long term value for investors and building an equally powered sustainable world.
About Vioma Motors: VIOMA MOTORS is an e-mobility startup with the first product being a best-in-class smart electric scooter (E-scooter) specifically designed to address the charging infrastructure problem in India and to solve the challenges of high fuel rates and climate upheaval caused by combustion engines. Vioma hope to help people switch to highly secure, environment-friendly alternatives and bring electric vehicles into India’s mainstream culture. Vioma’s smart E-scooter can generate charge while riding and contribute it to the main battery pack. In the world of EVs, where people are still skeptical about transitioning towards sustainable transportation due to the inconvenient charging systems incorporated in most of the existing clean tech vehicles, Vioma breaks the stereotype and propels the world towards sustainable transportation by pushing the limits of technology and broadening the realm of imagination. Vioma believe that transportation is not just mere movement from point A to point B, but is the constituent experience of the journey.