Rare-earth-free motor maker Chara Technologies on Monday raised Rs 52 crore in a Series A funding round led by Arkam Ventures.
The round also saw participation from Exfinity Venture Partners, Kalaari Capital, and IIMA Ventures.
Chara said it will use the newly-raised funds to set up a dedicated testing and validation facility in Bengaluru, which is expected to increase the firm’s production capacity five-fold from 20,000 to 100,000 units annually.
A portion of the funds will also be used to launch new product lines, including lighter, higher-speed motors, larger capacity variant, and industrial models.
Additionally, the firm, which currently has footprints in Belgium and Italy, will also double down its international expansion plan targeting North America and a deeper presence in Europe. The firm is targeting a 6X growth in its top-line growth from FY25 to FY26 with a goal of selling 40,000 motors by FY27.
“Deep-tech, autonomy in energy systems, and manufacturing are key ingredients for a Viksit Bharat. At Chara, we are working diligently towards these goals. The infusion of capital will help us scale our product deployments, strengthen our manufacturing capability and invest in future products. Our goal is to build a deep-tech product company in India and deploy our products worldwide,” said Bhaktha Keshavachar, Founder & CEO, Chara Technologies.
Founded in November 2019, the Bengaluru-based startup specialises in developing rare-earth-free electric motors and controllers for various applications including EVs, industries, and agricultural equipment.
The funding news comes amidst an ongoing rare earth magnet crisis triggered by Chinese export restrictions which has affected a range of industries including automotive makers in India.
“Chara, with its combination of proven technology and design to manufacturing capability, is well placed to fulfil the growing needs of Indian auto OEMs for power train solutions. Chara is the first Indian company that allows for end to end domestic sufficiency to enable the massive mission of EV adoption in India. They have achieved the most important milestone of a deeptech company – commercialising production and proving on road performance of a IP rich product starting from inhouse design. The fresh capital will allow Chara to deliver on the quality and reliable production requirements of large OEMs,” said Rahul Chandra, Managing Director, Arkam.
The firm last raised $4.75 million in January 2023 in a pre-Series A round led by Exfinity Venture Partners along with participation from Vietnam-based Big Capital, the venture arm of Bitexco and Log9 Materials, and investors Kalaari Capital and ciie.co.
