Participated · Series A · Sep 2020

BluSmart is an Indian electric-vehicle ride-hailing company. It provides ride-hailing services using electric vehicles. The company closed a pre-Series B round raising $24 million. Investors named in the round include the MS Dhoni Family Office and responsAbility. The funds are intended to expand BluSmart's footprint in India. No other financial details or operating metrics were disclosed in the article. BluSmart is an Indian electric ride-hailing startup that provides ride-hailing services using electric vehicles. The company operates in India and focuses on EV-based transportation. The article reports BluSmart has raised $42 million in funding. The financing was provided through a combination of equity and debt. The round was led by the company’s founders and leadership team. The article does not disclose operating metrics, revenue, or future plans. BLU Smart Mobility operates an all-electric taxi-hailing platform serving customers across Delhi NCR and at Indira Gandhi International Airport terminals. The company has added long-range EVs and launched an all-electric inter-city service between Delhi NCR and Jaipur and Chandigarh. It plans to scale its fleet to over 5,000 BluSmart electric vehicles and expand a network of EV Superhubs across the Delhi NCR. BluSmart says it has scaled 25-fold since launch and emphasizes creating economic opportunities for driver-partners without asset ownership. To support growth it has secured equity, venture debt, and substantial EV asset financing, which it intends to deploy for fleet and hub expansion. BluSmart operates an app-based, all-electric ride-hailing service using electric sedan cabs across Delhi‑NCR. The company shares trip details and the carbon emissions saved with passengers after every ride. BluSmart has completed over one million all-electric trips, logged more than 35 million clean kilometres, and has over 350,000 app downloads in the region. To scale its fleet and increase EV adoption in Delhi‑NCR, BluSmart is procuring additional vehicles financed through a loan. The company has raised institutional capital previously, including a $25 million Series A in October 2021 and a pre-Series A in 2020. The new financing is intended to accelerate fleet expansion and emissions reductions in the national capital region. BluSmart operates an integrated electric-vehicle ride-hailing and charging service with a fleet of electric cabs and a large network of fast chargers across Delhi NCR. The company leases vehicles to drivers and handles vehicle maintenance to reduce driver financial and operational burdens. Its app shows operational safety details such as the last sanitisation time for each car and driver vaccination status. BluSmart has completed over 500,000 electric trips, covered more than 16 million clean kilometres, and recorded over 250,000 app downloads. The company plans to use new funding to expand its fleet and charging stations from Delhi to five additional Indian cities over the next two years. The business is led by Anmol Singh Jaggi.

Led · Equity · May 2019

Kalpavriksh is the private equity arm of Centrum and deploys capital into niche consumer businesses. The firm announced it invested about $2.2 million (Rs 15 crore) across two companies. The investments were made in The Ayurveda Experience and Dunzo. The article does not provide a breakdown of the allocation between the two companies or specify instrument types. No additional financial metrics, future plans, or operating details were disclosed in the article.

Led · Equity · May 2019

The Ayurveda Experience is a personal care and wellness brand that provides personal care products, food and beverages, supplements, and other products aimed at modern health and beauty needs. Its product mix spans personal care, food & beverage, and dietary supplements. The company recently secured $26.6 million in a Series C financing. The round was backed by Jungle Ventures, Anicut Capital, SIDBI Venture Capital, and Sharrp Ventures. The article does not disclose additional operating metrics such as revenue or user numbers. No future plans or use of proceeds were detailed in the article. The Ayurveda Experience is a D2C skincare and nutrition brand that packages Ayurvedic consultation, content, webinars, products and courses into modern self-care solutions. The company says it translates ancient Ayurvedic science into convenient, aspirational daily offerings for global consumers. It plans to use new funding to enter new geographies, expand in existing markets, and strengthen R&D, supply chain and manufacturing capabilities. Management also intends to invest in technologies to personalize the customer experience on its platform; the brand opened its first offline store in Torrance, Los Angeles in October. Founded by Rishabh Chopra in 2010 and based in Gurugram, the company targets rapid growth (a stated vision of 46% CAGR over five years). Financially it reported more than Rs 235 crore in revenue last year, an annualized run rate of over Rs 280 crore, and a customer base of about 840,000. The Ayurveda Experience (TAE) is a Delhi-based company that manufactures, sells and distributes Ayurvedic products in India and globally through its brands iYURA and Ajara. The company plans to scale up its research and development facility to strengthen its product portfolio and increase its geographic reach. TAE received a Rs 10 crore investment from Kalpavriksh, the private equity fund of Centrum Group. As part of the agreement, Giri Krishnaswamy, CIO of Kalpavriksh, will join the company's board. The infusion is intended to support R&D expansion and market growth. Kalpavriksh's broader portfolio includes investments in The HEAL Institute, The Label Life and Littlemore Innovation Labs.

Led · Equity · Dec 2017

The Label Life is a Mumbai-based e-commerce lifestyle brand that sells contemporary fashion, accessories, and home décor styled by Bollywood celebrities such as Sussanne Khan, Malaika Arora and Bipasha Basu. It targets urban women aged 23 to 45 living in India's top ten cities and maintains collaborations with designers like Falguni Shane Peacock and Payal Singhal. The company announced a Rs20 crore ($3.1M) investment from Kalpavriksh, Centrum Group’s maiden private equity fund under Centrum Alternatives LLP. The Label Life said it will use the funding to expand operations and partnerships, double SKUs, explore an omni-channel strategy, and introduce new categories and verticals in 2018. The brand is backed by Kalaari Capital, and Kalpavriksh described the business as having strong customer engagement and good unitary economics. Founder and CEO Preeta Sukhtankar highlighted plans for aggressive expansion and further collaborations.