Yulu eyes debt funding; to expand into new geographies

Yulu is in talks to raise a ‘large’ debt capital, as the electric bike rental startup aims to bolster its presence in its existing markets, its chief executive officer Amit Gupta said, adding that the company will expand to another 10-12 cities this year.

- Priyamvada C.

Yulu will use the fresh funds to grow its fleet size. “In places such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, we have the ability to grow 7-8x, so we have a lot of opportunity and supply and demand in our core markets," Gupta told Mint in an interview. The company also has plans to launch two models in collaboration with Bajaj Auto, its largest shareholder.

Gupta did not specify the amount of debt that the company is raising. Last week, news website Entrackr reported that Yulu had raised ₹25 crore debt from Northern Arc Capital.

Launched in 2017, Amit Gupta along with R. K. Misra and Naveen Dachuri founded Yulu in an attempt to help escape traffic congestion and overcome last-mile mobility challenges in Indian cities. Yulu operates in key markets such as Bengaluru, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Delhi, and Gurugram, and aims to expand to other cities such as Hyderabad and Pune that have a population of at least 10 million.