Amit Gupta, co-founder, Yulu, details his ambition for the start-up to become a universal, accessible, affordable, available and sustainable urban micro-mobility solution for all.
If there was ever a question about whether micro-mobility could succeed in emerging economies, India’s Yulu, offers an emphatic, compelling case study. Company offers a range of electric 2 wheeler that offers easy mobility for all. EcoTrade talked to Amit Gupta, co-founder and chief executive of Yulu, a micro-mobility solution that helps reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.
Key insights #1: Yulu prioritize creating inclusive options for diverse customer segments and continuously improves its offerings based on market understanding and consumer needs
EcoTrade: What problem did you intend to solve when you started Yulu?
Amit Gupta: Yulu is on a mission to make our cities better through sustainable mobility solutions that are purpose-built for urban use. In India, most large cities struggle with the problem of poor air quality and traffic congestion, and yet, end-to-end mobility connectivity is a challenge. Be it going from home to the nearest metro or bus station, or to your office, most people are still dependent on personal vehicles or expensive cabs or auto rickshaws. A large segment of the population doesn’t have access to mobility due to a lack of financial resources or essential documents like a Driving Licence.
Developing countries face challenges of a very different nature from developed countries. Hence, our vision is to create solutions that are universal, accessible, affordable, available and sustainable. As we understand the market and the consumers better, we are continuously reimagining our products, technology, operations and customer experience to reach a wide variety of use cases and customer segments.
“We are continuously reimagining our products, technology, operations and customer experience to reach a wide variety of use cases and customer segments.”
EcoTrade: What types of products and services are you able to offer thanks to the technology that you have developed?
Amit Gupta: Yulu has pioneered shared electric mobility or mobility-as-a-service over the last 4 years and is today the country’s largest player in this space with close to 24,000 vehicles. Our vehicles are purpose-built for shared mobility, so these are smart vehicles that are always connected to a cloud infrastructure allowing us to monitor and run operations efficiently. Apart from this, the hardware and software are purpose-built for shared usage, which gives us a unique advantage.
We have also developed, Yuma Energy, a battery charging and swapping station network through a joint venture with Magna, a North-America-based mobility tech company. Both mobility and battery-as-a-service networks are AI and ML powered and can thus respond to business demand requirements in real time with high efficiency.
On the consumer front, we cater to multiple segments – For the first and last mile, as well as near-mile commute we offer ‘Quick Ride’ service where Yulu Miracle EVs are used by everyday users for short-mile intra-city commute, be it going to the office, outings, running errands, etc. The other service by us is called ‘Long Term Rental’ which is powered by Yulu DeX, our EV that is purpose-built for last-mile deliveries. Delivery executives from almost all major food tech & instant grocery platforms use DeX for deliveries.
Besides this, we also recently launched a personal mobility EV, Wynn, that people can buy in a full ownership model. Yulu runs all these mobility solutions on a robust tech stack developed in-house and time-tested for running multiple mobility platforms.
Key insights #2: Company is leveraging purpose-built vehicles, advanced technology infrastructure, and strategic partnerships to provide efficient and diverse mobility solutions.
EcoTrade: When you think about Yulu in the next five to ten years, where do you see the company going?
Amit Gupta: Yulu is a pioneer and already India’s largest shared electric mobility company. Over the next 12 months, Yulu aims to have 100,000 new shared EVs in 6-7 cities in India, supported by a network of over 500 battery swapping stations powered by Yuma Energy. Our long-term vision is to be present in all major cities in India, and some International cities, either directly or through partnerships. We foresee having 1 million shared EVs on the road in the next 5 years and being an EV leader by supporting India’s transition to electric mobility and investing in building a robust EV ecosystem.
EcoTrade: What keeps you up at night as the chief executive of Yulu?
Amit Gupta: The massive opportunity to transform mobility and the energy that powers it in the country is something that ignites our vision. There are millions of people in India who could improve their lives, just by getting access to the right kind of mobility solution for them – and we want to play a role in their journey towards a better future.
EcoTrade: Looking back, what advice would you have for a new entrepreneur starting a business in electric mobility?
Amit Gupta: With mobility going shared and electric, there are massive possibilities for the entrepreneurs to work passionately towards. Some of the major one includes:
- Designing vehicles for today’s fast growing population that provides safety, comfort, accessibility, affordability at scale.
- Battery packs that can pack more energy without compromising on range and safety
- Advance electronics components like motor controllers, telematics
- AI led algorithms to improve the safety & performance of the vehicles
About Amit Gupta: Amit co-founded InMobi that is India’s first profitable internet unicorn. Amit played an instrumental role in building InMobi’s revenue engine and its expansion in 15+ countries. Prior to starting Yulu, Amit built a new business unit for InMobi that created massive value for Telecom Operators and Smartphone manufacturers. Amit is also an active angel investor and has invested in multiple startups across India and the US. Amit graduated from IIT Kanpur and received the prestigious Distinguished Alumni Award from the institution.
