The round was led by IvyCap Ventures, with participation from the Asian Development Bank and Trucks Venture Capital. The company, founded in 2023, has so far enabled financing for more than 25,000 EVs across categories, focusing on the commercial segment.
Mundra said the firm is positioning itself to address gaps in EV financing, particularly around underwriting and asset risk, which have limited traditional lenders. “If you look at India’s transition to EVs over the next few years… there’s over $100 billion of capital required,” he said, adding that evolving technology and the lack of established resale values make financing decisions more complex.
He noted that Astranova is building a platform to assess both borrower and asset risks in a segment where smaller fleet operators dominate and require specialised underwriting. “What you really need is a specialist player in the middle that solves for this asset risk… and simultaneously has the ability to underwrite these operators in a very specialised manner,” Mundra said.
The company plans to use the fresh capital to invest in its data and technology stack, including artificial intelligence capabilities. According to Mundra, its platform analyses real-time data from vehicles to track performance and flag potential stress early. “Today we can predict if a customer is… going through a tough time and may want to return the vehicle over the next three to five days,” he said.
On demand trends, Mundra said EV adoption in the commercial segment is widening beyond early segments such as two- and three-wheelers. He noted increased traction in four-wheelers, light commercial vehicles and buses, with early signs of demand emerging in trucks as well, as total cost of ownership improves.
Astranova is targeting growth across customer segments, including small fleet operators with limited access to formal credit, as well as larger fleet owners. Mundra said the company’s approach combines data-led underwriting with careful matching of vehicles to specific use cases to manage credit and asset quality risks.
Also Read | Electric vehicles may mirror India’s scooter-to-motorcycle shift as fuel costs rise
At the same time, he cautioned that expansion would depend on broader ecosystem readiness. “You cannot run faster than the ecosystem,” Mundra said, adding that capital deployment and customer selection would be critical as the company scales.
Astranova is also looking to structure financing programmes that can attract larger pools of debt capital into the EV sector, as it seeks to scale its platform in line with the wider growth of India’s commercial EV market.
