Founded in 2016, the five-year-old startup is headquartered in India, with operations in France and the U.S
Energy-tech startup ION Energy today announced it has raised $3.6 million in Pre-Series A funding. The round was raised from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund and joined by Silicon Valley-based Climate Capital, early-stage investor YourNest Venture Capital, Riso Capital, Venture Catalysts, and other angel investors.
The funds will be used to grow the ION team to over 125 from the current 70, invest in product development, and expand the software business in North America and Europe, the company said in a statement.
Founded in 2016, the five-year-old startup is headquartered in India, with operations in France and the U.S.
“Globally, we believe 2021 will be the inflection point for the new energy transition as both companies and governments come together towards reducing carbon emissions. At ION, we’re confident that advanced electronics and software that help enterprises accelerate this transition will become mission-critical to meet our goals of a zero-carbon future,” said Akhil Aryan, Co-founder and CEO of ION Energy.
ION’s flagship offering is a smart battery management platform (BMS) that leverages proprietary algorithms to improve battery life and performance. The BMSs are typically sold as a product or a technology license to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that are developing lithium-ion batteries and/or electric vehicles.
ION supplies to 75+ OEMs across 15 countries including India, France, Spain and the US. Since its inception, it has deployed over 60,000 smart BMS in electric vehicles and stationary storage systems.
Aryan, in a conversation with The Economic Times, said around 50 per cent to 60 per cent of the company’s business comes from international markets. “Given the scale of some of the OEMs we work within India, if they roll out their full might in the next two-three years, then India will definitely be a large market for us,” he said.
Amazon launched The Climate Pledge Fund in 2020, a $2 billion fund to support companies developing sustainable technologies for a zero-carbon future. To date, Amazon has invested in visionary companies across industries including BETA Technologies, CarbonCure Technologies, Infinium, Pachama, Redwood Materials, Rivian, TurnTide, ZeroAvia, and now ION Energy.
This round of investment will enable ION to serve the customers that are in its $15M+ order pipeline and invest into growing the SaaS business exponentially.
