Campus to capital: ACS Energy secures Rs 1.1 Cr pre-seed funding

ACS Energy, a campus-born EV charging startup founded by alumni of K J Somaiya School of Engineering, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, has secured Rs 1.1 Crore in pre-seed funding from Inflection Point Ventures (IPV).

The milestone follows years of foundational support the startup received through riidl Somaiya Vidyavihar University, an incubation centre which nurtures startups with access to resources, labs, government grants, investor connections, funding, and mentorship. A joint initiative of Somaiya Trust and Somaiya Vidyavihar, riidl offers early prototyping infrastructure and connects founders to government-backed programmes.

Business incubators of riidl are supported by the Department of Science & Technology; BIRAC, Department of Biotechnology; MeitY, Government of India; and Maharashtra State Innovation Society. It has incubated over 300 startups, creatinged 1000+ jobs and internships, and enabled its startups to generate over Rs 400 crore in revenue. riidl Somaiya Vidyavihar University was awarded the National Award for the year 2020 in the Emerging Technology Business Incubator category by the Department of Science and Technology.

ACS Energy benefitted from the NIDHI Prayas prototyping grant by the Department of Science & Technology (DST) and its participation in the HDFC Parivartan Manufacturing Accelerator by HDFC Bank and Research Innovation Incubation Design Laboratory (riidl Somaiya Vidyavihar University)s. This enabled the team to build its early systems, engineering processes, and core charging technology, while being supported by the Maharashtra State Innovation Society, Government of Maharashtra.

ACS Energy is developing modular, user-friendly EV charging solutions for residential townships and high-rise buildings, an underserved but rapidly growing segment in India’s EV ecosystem. With this investment, the company aims to expand its charging network across Mumbai and other urban markets, strengthen its hardware-software stack, and accelerate deployments in gated communities and residential societies.

ACS Energy chargers have already helped avoid more than 80 tons of tailpipe CO₂ emissions by shifting daily commuting from ICE vehicles to EVs charged on our network. Based on the total kWh delivered and average EV efficiency, this is equivalent to over 6,00,000 green kilometres of cleaner travel powered through ACS.

Founded by SVU alumni, ACS Energy traces its research roots to riidl and the ecosystem at Somaiya Vidyavihar University, where the team first began exploring EV technologies, system design, and early prototypes. The university’s research culture, engineering labs, and sustained incubation support through riidl at Somaiya Vidyavihar University helped the founders transition from an academic project into a commercially deployable venture. ACS Energy’s first EV charging station was deployed inside the Somaiya Vidyavihar University campus, giving the team a live environment to test, validate, and optimize the technology before commercial rollout.

Both founders of ACS Energy come from K J Somaiya School of Engineering (KJSSE). Jash Sheth specialized in mechanical engineering, and Mihir Bhanushali pursued electronics & telecommunication engineering. During his time at KJSSE, Sheth was selected for an international exchange program in France at the University of Technology of Troyes, where he was exposed to European energy systems, sustainable mobility and smart infrastructure. The college supported him with academic flexibility and credit transfers, enabling him to manage his coursework while gaining this international experience.

Their combined experiences along with the global exposure gained through KJSSE’s exchange programme played a key role in shaping the technical depth and global outlook behind ACS’s UPI-enabled EV chargers and AI-based energy platform.

“Our journey began at Somaiya Vidyavihar University, where we had the environment, mentorship, and encouragement to build early prototypes and validate real-world use cases,” said Sheth, Founder and CEO, ACS Energy. He added that support from riidl Somaiya Vidyavihar University, through incubation and access to prototyping grants, provided the runway to refine technology. “This new round of investment strengthens our commitment to building scalable clean-energy solutions for India and emerging markets.”

“We are proud to see ACS Energy, an SVU-born and riidl-incubated startup, achieving this important milestone,” said Gaurang Shetty, Chief Innovation Catalyst, riidl Somaiya Vidyavihar University. He added that Somaiya Vidyavihar University and riidl have built one of the most comprehensive university-based innovation ecosystems in India. “From mentorship and prototyping support to access to research infrastructure and industry linkages, our focus has always been to enable founders to move from concept to commercialisation. ACS Energy’s success reaffirms the strength of this ecosystem and the impact it can create.”

This milestone also reflects the strength of the innovation ecosystem built by riidl Somaiya Vidyavihar University to support founders from idea to scale. By combining academic depth, research infrastructure, and hands-on entrepreneurial guidance, it enables early-stage ventures like ACS Energy to evolve into high-impact, market-ready companies.