[Tech30] This SaaS-based tech startup wants to be a critical energy enabler for EVs

Ravikiran Annaswamy, Siddharth Sreenivasan, and Muralidhar Somisetty teamed up to build large systems that can be a gamechanger for the electric vehicle (EV) segment. They started Bengaluru-based Numocity Technologies in December 2018 to become a critical enabler for the EV ecosystem in the world, starting with India.

Having worked with large technology corporations such as Nokia, Siemens, and Cisco, the three co-founders knew how to build the infrastructure needed in the telecom sector. This led to the genesis of Numocity.

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Ravikiran says, “EV as a market is witnessing a lot of interest in India, and this is similar to what we saw in the telecom segment earlier. We understood that EV is going to be an ecosystem play.”

Critical part in the ecosystem

With an increased demand in the EV market, its success requires the participation of many players - vehicle manufacturers, battery makers, firms engaged in charging infrastructure, electricity grid operators, etc.

And Numocity wants to be that critical lynchpin that connects all these elements together. “We had a good knowledge of the sector and understood how complex systems could be built,” Ravikiran says.

The founders interacted with various CXOs and received positive feedback on the startup’s product and service, which got them started up.  

Siddharth says, “We work across the EV ecosystem. Be it with the vehicle or the battery manufacturer, or those engaged in charging infrastructure. We have become a component in their offering.”

Software and hardware

Numocity is counted among a small number of tech startups engaged in both hardware and software. The startup's solutions are largely focused on energy management, be it the vehicle, battery operations, or advising owners on how to get the best Return on Investment (ROI).

Numocity uses technologies like Internet of Things (IoT) and radio-frequency identification (RFID), to bring about these solutions.  Additionally, the startup uses certain hardware products that act as a digital system. It is either placed in the vehicle or on the battery to manage the entire energy system.

Muralidhar says, “We are like the middleware orchestrating multiple key points.”

Focus on fleets

Numocity has a few clients in its kitty that primarily operate EV fleets.  It also provides critical consulting inputs along with its product on how to manage the vehicles’ entire energy system.

As the EV market in India is still evolving, the founders believe that the larger focus will be on those companies that have a large fleet of electric vehicles. They expect the public battery infrastructure would be a big play in the next four to five years.

Siddharth says, “All the systems we are building have got scale built into it, and that is the goal we are targeting.”

At present, Numocity is focussed on the Indian market. However, Ravikiran  adds, “We do not consider ourselves just to be an Indian player, but want to reach out to the global market.”

Muralidhar says that solutions developed by Numocity are applicable to other similar markets like Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Numocity’s founders believe that they are just starting out and they play a critical role at various touchpoints of the EV ecosystem. This gives them access to rich data and consumer insights.

USP

While there is competition for a startup like Numocity, it does not necessarily have to come from similar setups. Competitors can also emerge from other nations like China, Germany, and the Nordic region, which have made a strong presence in the EV segment.

Ravikiran believes that India has a strong opportunity to script its own journey in the EV sector. “We are uniquely placed with our solution catering to the local needs and for somebody from outside India  will have to localise,” he  adds.

Siddharth says that the Indian EV market is very different from other advanced countries, where two-wheelers and three-wheelers are not prominently used. “One does not hear about autorickshaws in Germany,” he quips.

A bootstrapped startup, Numocity is currently in the process of raising a seed round of funding. The startup’s business model is based on both licensing and software-as-a-service (SaaS). 

“We have built large telecom systems for big companies which were a phenomenal success. We do not want to miss all this action of building something of our own, which will help India leapfrog in the EV segment,” Ravikiran concludes.

(Edited by Suman Singh)

YourStory’s Tech30 companies list is an annual selection of 30 carefully curated and disruptive tech-based startups that we believe will shape the new narrative for India and the world. To get a complete overview of the 2019 Tech30 companies list, download the Tech30 Report here.