Zypp’s Journey to Becoming a Leading Player in the EV Industry
Zypp Electric, a last-mile mobility service provider, raised $25 million in Series B funding led by Gogoro, a Taiwan-based battery-swapping company. The $20 million equity round included new and existing investors such as Goodyear Ventures, 9Unicorns, WFC, Venture Catalysts, LetsVenture, IAN, IVY Growth, Grip, and angel investors, while the $5 million debt investment came from global impact fund IIX and a large national bank.
Zypp is eager to improve operations across its service chain, including improving driver experience, expanding its EV (electric vehicle) hub infrastructure with Gogoro battery swapping technology, developing IoT- and AI-enabled EV fleet management technology, and growing its operations team by hiring across technology and top-level positions.
With a fleet of electric scooters, Zypp Electric enables last-mile operations for local merchants and e-commerce firms, lowering delivery costs and carbon footprint.
Early days of Zypp Electric
While service has always been at the heart of Zypp, the startup began its journey in 2017 with a B2C mobility service, renting/leasing electric scooters. Akash Gupta and Rashi Agarwal, the founders of Zypp, used to travel extensively around the world on business trips. During their trips to Europe, they observed the widespread use of EVs. This prompted them to consider a solution that would assist India in embracing sustainable mobility while also reducing pollution.
In 2017, Akash left MobiKwik as vice president of marketing, while Rashi left LetsFlaunt to launch Zypp Electric. Initially, Zypp’s business focused on last-mile commutes from metro stations to customers’ offices. Customers could rent or lease electric scooters, pick them up from a metro station, ride them to work, and then return them to the station. This service was offered in Gurgaon and a few other parts of Delhi.
The couple quickly realized the difficulties of running a mobility company. In the EV space, there is a huge need for capital, a massive fleet of bikes to meet customer demand, and widespread charging/swapping infrastructure.
Challenges Faced by Zypp Electric
Even as Zypp worked through these challenges, it sensed another market opportunity emerging—EVs for B2B delivery. Around 2019, delivery companies were looking to add EVs to their fleets. It was a fledgling market, with service providers conducting a few pilots. Zypp decided to jump on board and carve a niche for itself by operating an EV fleet and managing drivers for e-commerce players and merchants.
The company formed a core experimental team to build the technology stack and train and manage drivers. “It was a big pivot for us because our initial thesis was to do only mobility.” “Managing people was never our core competency,” Gupta says. Nonetheless, Zypp entered driver management and chose an asset-light model. It does not own the EVs, but it does operate an e-bike delivery fleet in collaboration with EV players such as Gogoro, Sun Mobility, Hero Electric, and Kinetic Green.
Goals of Zypp Electric
The startup’s goal Is to make last-mile delivery carbon-free for local merchants and e-commerce giants while also lowering delivery costs. According to Gupta, the company currently delivers groceries, medicines, food, and e-commerce packages from point to point using a fleet of fully automated IoT and AI-enabled scooters low on maintenance and high on performance. “By electrifying the last mile delivery segment, we hope to reduce carbon emissions.” “To date, we have delivered 15 million deliveries on electric vehicles for a large pool of top e-commerce partners while saving approximately 33 million kg of CO2,” Gupta says.
Zypp offers real-time driver verification during onboarding and tracks vehicle location in real time. Its app is linked to back-end services, allowing the driver to start and stop the vehicle. As a result, all vehicles are keyless. According to Gupta, this was made possible by using an IoT-based technology stack. The technology also monitors the performance and condition of batteries in real-time, which can be replaced at Zypp Electric Hubs located at key touchpoints. “The data analysis and intelligence layer help us make quick fleet decisions for maintenance and operations,” Gupta explains.
Conclusion
According to the company, it has completed 15 million ev deliveries for partners including BigBasket, Zepto, Flipkart, Myntra, Zomato, Swiggy, blinkit, Dunzo, Rapido bike taxi, Jiomart, 1mg, Delhivery, and Blue dart in the cities of Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. It also collaborates with local merchants and Kirana shops. Zypp recently collaborated with Taiwan-based Gogoro to establish swapping stations. The company intends to increase its fleet of e-bikes from 10,000 to 200,000 and expand its footprint from six Indian cities to thirty by December 2025. “We want to be the delivery platform for all 15 million executives (gig economy workers) in India,” Gupta declares.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How did Zypp Electric evolve over time?
A1. Recognizing the emerging market opportunity for EVs in B2B delivery, Zypp pivoted its business model to manage EV fleets for e-commerce players and merchants.
Q2. What are the goals of Zypp Electric?
A2. Zypp aims to make last-mile delivery carbon-free by offering EV solutions for local merchants and e-commerce giants, thereby reducing delivery costs and carbon emissions.
Q3. What technology does Zypp Electric employ?
A3. Zypp utilizes IoT- and AI-enabled scooters with real-time tracking and keyless operation. It also employs battery monitoring technology and operates swapping stations for efficient battery management.
Q4. What partnerships does Zypp Electric have?
A4. Zypp has partnerships with companies like Gogoro, Sun Mobility, Hero Electric, and Kinetic Green. It collaborates with e-commerce platforms such as BigBasket, Flipkart, Zomato, and Swiggy, as well as local merchants and Kirana shops.
Q5. How many deliveries has Zypp Electric completed so far?
A5. Zypp Electric has completed 15 million EV deliveries for partners including BigBasket, Flipkart, Zomato, Swiggy, and others in cities like Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru.
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