19 startup deals. $136 million raised. One big bet on the future of mobility. According to database company Venture Intelligence, this past week the Indian startup ecosystem clocked 19 venture deals, pulling in a total of $136 million. From dairy and edtech to market research and smart mattresses, the funding activity was broad, but one deal stood out in both ambition and climate relevance: SUN Mobility’s $60 million raise, making it our Deal of the Week.
Deal of the Week: SUN Mobility: $60M from Helios Climate & Others
EV battery-swapping infrastructure player SUN Mobility raised $60 million in a round led by U.S.-based Helios Climate Ventures, with participation from other global climate-focused funds.
The round signals a strong investor appetite for infrastructure plays in India’s electric mobility ecosystem, particularly those that tackle bottlenecks around charging, grid pressure, and battery ownership models.
SUN Mobility doesn’t build electric vehicles, it powers them. Its modular battery-swapping stations allow two- and three-wheelers to replace drained batteries in under two minutes, instead of waiting 2–3 hours to charge. With India aggressively chasing EV adoption and state-level mandates picking up speed, this refueling-as-a-service approach could be the infrastructure lynchpin that enables scale.
Why It Matters:
Most EV innovation in India has centered around vehicles or financing, not energy delivery. SUN Mobility’s model separates battery cost from the vehicle, drastically reducing upfront EV prices. This is a game-changer for fleet operators, gig workers, and small logistics players — the core of India’s urban mobility fabric. Moreover, Helios Climate’s entry into this space is telling.
The fund, which invests in scalable decarbonization solutions, likely sees SUN as a high impact climate infra bet, especially in markets like India where small-format EVs dominate.
Who is Helios Climate Ventures?
Helios Climate is a U.S.-based venture firm exclusively focused on climate-tech and clean infrastructure. They back companies with long-term potential to decarbonize core systems in emerging markets, mobility, power, logistics, and industry. Their thesis is rooted in supporting infra-like startups with software speed and hardware durability. Previous investments include energy storage systems, EV logistics platforms, and circular economy ventures. SUN Mobility fits squarely within this thesis, a hardware-backed climate solution with recurring revenue potential and urban infrastructure stickiness.
The Risk:
Battery swapping has struggled globally due to lack of interoperability and high capital expenditure. SUN’s challenge lies in achieving dense enough station coverage, a problem similar to early Uber or Paytm: if there aren’t enough nodes, the network doesn’t work.
Also, thecompany will need to navigate regulatory hurdles around battery standardization and city-level permits.
The Upside:
If it pulls off a reliable, standardized network, much like UPI did for payments, SUN Mobility could become the de facto infra layer for two-wheeler and three-wheeler EV mobility, especially in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities. In a market projected to have 25 million EVs on the road by 2030, that’s a massive moat.
Other Notable Deals
The Sleep Company raised $12 million from Saffron Investments and others, continuing the D2C push into comfort tech. With Indian consumers becoming more wellness- conscious, premium sleep is the new battleground.
Desi Farms, a dairy startup focused on traceable and fresh supply chains, raised $11.43 million from Three State Ventures. It’s part of a broader trend of urban India craving rural purity, backed by tech.
SpeakX, a speech-focused edtech startup, brought in $11 million from Elevation and WestBridge. While the sector has cooled, niche-focused learning startups are showing signs of renewed investor interest.
Metaforms, a B2B market research infra startup, raised $9 million from Peak XV Partners, Nexus, and Together Fund. This signals the growing belief that India’s SaaS 2.0 wave lies in verticalized, workflow-specific infra layers, think Qualtrics for India, built from scratch.
As Indian VC moves into a more fundamentals-driven era, it’s infrastructure, APIs, and under- the-hood enablers that are quietly attracting the big capital.
