Ohm Mobility, a firm that provides EV financing and leasing, is now closing its doors, joining a growing list of startup closures. Despite many turning points along the way, the five-year-old startup was unable to scale, according to cofounder and CEO Nikhil Nair.
Why Ohm Mobility Shut Down: Inside the Struggles of a Promising EV Fintech
In a LinkedIn post, Nair stated that although the company was unable to develop a sustainable and scalable strategy, it gained firsthand knowledge of what works, what doesn’t, and why. After failing at a few business models, the company now has a thorough understanding of them.
Nair created Ohm Mobility in 2020 to help EV fleet operators, manufacturers, and battery companies access finance by connecting them with banks and other financial institutions. In 2022, Nikhil Saigal, a former executive of Onfido, a provider of IT solutions, became the second cofounder and CBO of the firm.
Ohm Mobility’s Journey
The firm made it simpler for financial institutions to grant them loans by using data (IoT data) from EVs to comprehend and lower the financing risks. Notable investors include Antler India, Blume Ventures, and Catalyst Fund. A few angel investors helped Ohm Mobility raise about INR 5 Cr during its existence.
Ohm Mobility’s Pivot to Daily Earners: A Last Attempt at Survival
According to the cofounder’s statement regarding business pivots, Ohm Mobility recently changed its name to Ohm Daily in order to concentrate on offering financial products for daily earners, especially gig workers and professionals in the mobility industry (such as auto drivers).
Since its founding, Ohm Mobility has not submitted its financial statements to MCA for any fiscal year. It’s noteworthy that this is not the only modern IT company to close this year. A lacklustre response from the market led media houses to report in June that Altigreen, a three-wheeler EV manufacturer, was on the verge of closing its doors owing to a lack of finance.
In addition, BluSmart and Log9 also had turbulent declines in recent months. Due to their inability to scale and lack of investor interest, two early-stage firms, rapid commerce venture Blip and AI startup subtl.ai, have both recently ceased operations.
Wider Pattern: Are Indian EV Startups Running Out of Charge?
The auto industry in India is confronted with a transitional challenge: how to construct the future without halting the present. The majority of established manufacturers still operate ICE and EV programs concurrently, frequently sharing resources for engineering, validation, and procurement. It is now anticipated that these overlapping structures, which were intended for gradual development, will bring about revolutionary upheaval.
An extremely disjointed execution chain is the end outcome. According to Vector’s research, more than 60% of Tier-1s are involved in over ten programs at the same time, spanning several OEMs, with no insight into volume projections or design maturity.
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