Yulu: Environmentally Viable Mode of Transportation for the Last Mile

A good transportation system is a must for the development of any country. However, most of the modes of transportation we are using today are damaging our environment and causing severe air pollution. Air Pollution has become a matter of serious concern in most of the cities of India, and our country is unfortunately home to 8 of the world's 15 most polluted cities as of 2023.

Wikipedia says that Air pollution contributes to the premature deaths of 2 million Indians every year. Emissions from vehicles being one of the major contributors to air pollution, it has become necessary to move towards environmentally viable modes of transportation.

In addressing these issues, Yulu has come up with a perfect solution. Yulu caters to urban mobility, and its products are super comfortable and ergonomically designed to facilitate the easy shift from conventional vehicles.

With time, Yulu has grown to become a movement because it is solving the complex problem of first- and last-mile connectivity while also helping alleviate the challenges of congestion and air pollution.

Know more about Yulu, its founders, business model, revenue model, funding, and more.

Yulu - Company Highlights

Yulu - About
Yulu - How it Works?
Yulu - Industry
Yulu - Founders and Team
Yulu - Startup Story
Yulu - Mission and Vision
Yulu - Name and Logo
Yulu - Business Model
Yulu - Revenue Model
Yulu - User Acquisition
Yulu - Startup Challenges
Yulu - Funding and Investors
Yulu - Growth
Yulu - Awards
Yulu - Competitors
Yulu - Future Plans

Yulu - About

Yulu is a technology-driven mobility platform to enable Integrated Urban Mobility across public and private modes of transport. Using Micro Mobility Vehicles (MMV) through a user-friendly mobile app, Yulu provides a seamless, shared, and sustainable first- and last-mile connectivity. The Yulu platform is simple, robust, scalable, supports multiple vehicles, and uses a common information model.

Yulu - How it Works?

Yulu uses IoT, Machine learning & AI and Cloud computing to deliver a seamless experience via a user-friendly app. Using IoT as the backbone of the operation, their dock-less vehicles can be rented seamlessly on a pay-per-use basis. Users can book a ride via the iOS or Android app and the smart bikes can be unlocked via QR codes.

After running the service with bicycles and understanding the need of the market, they decided to add electric mobility to their service. Looking at the gap in the market, they decided to design “Yulu Miracle” which is a unique battery operated, lightweight, easy to ride, small 2 wheeler.

Yulu Miracle has a maximum speed of 25 kmph and it comes under the exempted category where there is no requirement for a driving license or helmet. It has been enabling individuals to take eco-friendly rides at pocket-friendly prices and reduce their carbon footprint. Yulu Miracle is using swappable lithium-ion battery and has developed highly scalable networking of charging stations.

Yulu provides an eco-friendly UMaaS (Urban Mobility as a Service) which is an affordable and scalable solution for the first and last-mile commute options for citizens. Their vehicles are designed for shared micro-mobility for Indian climatic and road conditions.

Technology is at the core of Yulu, as they are harnessing technology to solve complex urban mobility problems using unique and smart vehicles. Their belief in data-driven business has led them to develop ML/AI models powered by data gathered from Users/IoT devices to provide a better user experience and increase operational efficiency.

Yulu - Industry

As per the analysis from Fortune Business Insights, the electric vehicle market in India is on a robust trajectory, projected to surge from $3.21 billion in 2022 to an impressive $113.99 billion by 2029. This substantial growth reflects a remarkable Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 66.52% during the forecast period of 2022-2029.

The comprehensive report underscores the significant expansion and potential of the Indian electric vehicle market, driven by a confluence of factors such as technological advancements, government initiatives, and a growing shift towards sustainable transportation solutions.

Yulu - Founders and Team

Hemant Gupta, Amit Gupta, RK Misra & Naveen Dachuri are the Co-Founders of Yulu.

Amit Gupta, - Co-Founder and CEO, Yulu

Amit graduated from IIT Kanpur and received the prestigious Distinguished Alumni Award from the institution. Amit formerly co-founded the profitable, billion-dollar startup InMobi. Amit played an instrumental role in building InMobi’s revenue engine and its expansion into 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 comes with experience in scaling up and building businesses from scratch.

RK Misra, Co-Founder, Yulu

He founded and successfully exited Tenet Technologies and Traveljini, after which he decided to leave the corporate world to engage with issues of Public Policy and Governance.

RK is associated with several organizations like Carnegie India, Center for Smart Cities (Founder), SAHYOG (Founder), and Karnataka CM's Vision Group. He did his graduation from IIT Kanpur and a master's from Tokyo University.

Naveen Dachuri, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Yulu

He played a leadership role at Ascent Consulting, where he architected and implemented a complex analytics platform for US Federal Aviation Administration from the ground up.

Prior to that, he was Technical Director for Data Analytics at BIAS Corporation. He also co-founded Learnora, an online educational platform. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from IIT Kanpur and a Master’s degree in Computer Graphics from Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea (GIST).

Hemant Gupta, Ex-Co-Founder and Ex-Chief of Operations (COO), Yulu

After his MBA from Symbiosis, Pune, Hemant joined A.P. Moller- Maersk as part of their highly acclaimed global talent management program. After achieving global recognition in Maersk for his stellar performance, he moved to The Netherlands.

In his professional journey, Hemant has delivered impressive results across the various management roles he has held in logistics and supply chains. Hemant is passionate about traveling, the tech domain, and some other habits he picked up in the Netherlands, like fitness and biking!. However, he left the organization in October 2022.

Yulu has 201-500 employees, as per LinkedIn.

Yulu - Startup Story

The vision to do something for creating a bigger impact on society was the start-off point for the founding team of Yulu. Traffic congestion and air pollution were the problems which gained their attention, and thus, they built Yulu, focusing on solving urban mobility problems and addressing the rising air pollution and traffic congestion issues.

It is the only company in the country in the micro-mobility segment operating with swappable battery solutions for EVs. They have embarked on a journey with multiple hardware innovations, ranging from unique battery charging stations to developing various ML/AI models, IoT devices, etc.

As a pioneer in this space, Yulu has influenced several policies for sustainable mobility in India. The Yulu team has built a technology platform focused on micro-mobility and is harnessing technology to solve complex urban mobility problems using its unique and smart vehicles.

Yulu - Mission and Vision

The mission on the company's website states, "Yulu’s mission is to make urban mobility in India seamless, shareable and sustainable."

Yulu's vision is to "lessen traffic congestion by offering a first mile, last mile, and short-distance commuters a scalable, reasonably priced, effective, and clean alternative."

Yulu - Name and Logo

Yulu's parent company is Yulu Bikes Pvt. Ltd.

Yulu - Business Model

Using a business-to-consumer business model, Yulu transforms urban mobility in Bengaluru with its human-driven and battery-powered vehicles. Yulu offers a quick and easy substitute for those who are tired of paying hefty taxi fares and cramming buses.

The service facilitates easy and efficient travel to major places by providing a quick and economical way to get there. Yulu's business concept strives to improve the overall commuter experience by seamlessly merging human-centric and electric cars, offering a workable option for time-sensitive trips in metropolitan contexts.

Yulu - Revenue Model

Yulu generates revenue from different resources; some of the prominent ones are listed below:

Fare Collection: Charging fares for rental rides is the main source of income. The high usage volume greatly increases revenue, even when the fares are reasonable.

Deposit for Security: Charging fares for rental rides is the main source of income. The high usage volume greatly increases revenue, even when the fares are reasonable.

Revenue from Advertising: Yulu takes security deposits, which differ for bicycles and miraculous bikes. This enhances the total income model significantly in addition to acting as a safeguard for the assets.

Yulu - User Acquisition

The Yulu team has utilised word of mouth marketing for their initial market reach. Nevertheless, the unique design of the products created an inquisitiveness to try the product once!

They have acquired more than 2.5 million customers with zero user acquisition cost; it’s the uniqueness of the products which helped them in acquiring the customers along with solving the pain points of first and last connectivity for the customers.

Yulu is changing the way Indians are moving in big cities. They believe Electric Vehicles are the future of mobility, for known reasons like good quality of air and their vehicles are setting the trend for EV adoption in the big cities of India.

Yulu - Challenges Faced

Yulu faces two primary challenges in introducing its concept in India, the first being the need to shift people's mindsets and the second requiring ecosystem partners to align their thinking. Fortunately, early indicators show positive signs of changing attitudes and adoption. Over the past three years, there has been a noticeable uptick in the trend of cycling, with examples ranging from CEOs to individual employees opting for eco-friendly modes of transport to work.

This shift is driven by increased awareness of air quality issues and a collective desire to reduce carbon emissions from traditional fuel-based vehicles. The Yulu team remains optimistic that, with collaborative efforts from government agencies and private organizations, they can contribute significantly to making Indian cities pollution-free.

The difficulties encountered during the Covid-19 lockdown highlighted the vital role played by Yulu e-Bikes in Bangalore as the only vehicles on the road, guaranteeing the transportation of necessities to families in a country at a halt. Although there is hope for India's progressive EV legislation and acknowledgement of the sizeable EV market in the country, there were clear industry hurdles.

It was noted that selecting the appropriate product is crucial when switching from gas-powered to electric automobiles. In particular, given the continued difficulties in the industry, it was emphasized that the government must give shared mobility and gig economy workers top priority in order to promote widespread adoption.

Yulu - Funding and Investors

Yuly has raised $137.5 million in nine rounds of funding.

Below are the funding details for Yulu.

Yulu - Growth

Yulu growth highlights are mentioned below:

• Yulu has covered 385 million km as of February 2024.
• It has saved 20 million kg of CO2 as of January 2024.
• It has completed 80 million+ rides as of January 2024.
• It has swapped 10 million plus batteries as of January 2024.
• The company has 30k EVs on the road as of January 2024.

Financials

Yulu - Awards

Yulu has won various awards; some of the most prominent one are listed below.

• Yulu Wins 2021's StartUp Awards' Best Smart City Solution Startup
• Yulu Won The Most Esteemed Award in India for the Software Product Sector! in 2020!
• Emerging Startup of the Year by Entrepreneur India in 2019
• Yulu won Coolest Startup of the Year by Business Today in 2019.
• Yulu won the Cypher Great Learning Data Science Awards 2019 for AI implementation in mobility.
• Yulu won Most Innovative Startup by Inc42 in 2018.

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Yulu - Competitors

Yulu's competitors in the shared electric mobility sector include Zypp Electric, EVeez, Hala, Fullfily, ONN, VA-YU, Exa Ride, and GoFuel.

Yulu - Future Plans

With its sights set on seven more major Indian metropolises, Yulu, the shared electric car mobility platform already functioning in its hometown as well as Delhi and Mumbai, is ready for an expansion phase. The platform aggressively investigates possible third-party collaborations to deliver micro-mobility services in tier 2 and tier 3 cities and villages, demonstrating its ambitious intentions that go beyond urban centers.

This calculated action demonstrates Yulu's dedication to promoting accessible and sustainable mobility options in a wider range of settings, supporting the expansion of eco-friendly mobility choices in various urban and semi-urban environments.

FAQs

What is Yulu?

YULU is a technology-driven mobility platform to enable Integrated Urban Mobility across public and private modes of transport. It offers Yulu Miracle and Yulu Move

Who owns Yulu?

Hemant Gupta, Amit Gupta, RK Misra & Naveen Dachuri are the founders of Yulu.

What is the price of Yulu Miracle?

Yulu Miracle Price:

• Rs 2.5 for each minute of bike riding.
• One can pause their ride, for which they charge 50 paise per minute.
• Yulu also provides a one-day rental package.

Can I drop Yulu anywhere?

After the use, the rider can park the cycle in the dedicated cycle space.

Does Yulu require helmet?

Meant for one commuter, Yulu scooters have a 48-volt motor controller, a maximum speed of 25 km per hour, and require no licence or helmet for usage.

Is Yulu an Indian company?

Yes, Yulu is an Indian company founded by Hemant Gupta, Amit Gupta, RK Misra & Naveen Dachuri.

Is Yulu available in Mumbai?

Yulu was launched in Bangalore and is now available in Mumbai, Pune, Bhubaneswar, and Delhi.