Electric vehicle (EV) fast charging company Exponent Energy has closed its first funding round in over a year, raising $25 million at a valuation of $100-120 million. The round is led by Fidelity-backed international investor Eight Roads, which has invested in Indian startups such as Pharmeasy, Whatfix, Shadowfax and Icertis. Exponent Energy's existing investors, including Lightspeed India and AdvantEdge VC, are also participating in the round. Exponent Energy  last raised $13 million in  a Series A round led by Lightspeed in August 2022, valuing the Bengaluru-based startup at around $45 million.

"Initially, the company wanted to raise almost $40 million, but the round ends at $25 million". Exponent has been raising money in the market  for the past three to four months, he added. Another person said the company plans to deploy new capital to expand its charging infrastructure to more cities while refining its battery portfolio for additional use cases. "Currently , the company is present only in Bengaluru and is finalizing plans to expand to Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad", Exponent is also currently developing three-wheeler truck batteries and is close to developing  three-wheeler batteries. wheeled passenger cars and buses,

The company started selling its products in February this year and expects to deliver Rs 600 crore by calendar year 2025. Exponent Energy declined a request for comment. The company, founded in 2020 by former Ather Energy executives Arun Vinayak and Sanjay Byalal Jagannath, has developed technology that claims to fully charge a vehicle in far less than the standard minimum of three hours. To ensure fast charging, electric vehicle manufacturers must install an Exponent battery in their vehicles, and the end user can charge the vehicle at Exponent's own charging stations. The company currently has 30 such charging stations.