Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund has made its first investment in India through energy-tech startup ION Energy and participated as a part of the startup’s Pre-Series A round worth $3.6 million.
Amazon was joined by Silicon Valley-based Climate Capital, early-stage investor YourNest Venture Capital, Riso Capital and Venture Catalysts, among other angel investors.
The funds will be used to bolster the team as the startup looks to double its headcount, according to ION Energy. It is also expected to use the proceeds from the round for product development and expand its software business across North America and Europe.
As part of the round, Anup Menon, head of strategy and emerging technology at Bank of America, will join ION’s board of directors.
“Globally, we believe 2021 will be the inflection point for the new energy transition as companies and governments come together towards reducing carbon emissions. At ION, we’re confident that advanced electronics and software that help enterprises accelerate this transition will become mission-critical to meet our goals of a zero-carbon future,” said Akhil Aryan, co-founder and CEO, ION Energy.
The five-year-old startup is headquartered in India, with operations in France and the US. ION’s flagship offering is a smart battery management platform that leverages proprietary algorithms to improve battery life and performance.
The platform is typically sold as a product or a technology licence to original equipment manufacturers that are developing lithium-ion batteries or electric vehicles.
“We are inspired by ION’s mission to build technologies that improve the life and performance of lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles and energy storage systems,” said Kara Hurst, vice president and head of worldwide sustainability at Amazon.
Amazon launched the $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund in 2020 to support firms developing sustainable technologies for a zero-carbon future.
“ION’s offering of battery management, electronics, intelligence and analytics is helping more than 75 customers,” said Dr Vivek Mansingh, general partner, YourNest.
