Yulu IPO Readiness Targets ₹1,200-1,500 Crore Revenue as Funding Supports Expansion

Yulu Sets Financial Milestones for Public-Market Readiness

Electric mobility startup Yulu is preparing for eventual public-market listing, with co-founder and CEO Amit Gupta saying the company expects to become IPO-ready after reaching annual revenue of ₹1,200-1,500 crore. The company’s plans follow a $93 million Series C funding round, consisting of $63 million in equity and $30 million in debt. Gupta said the funding arrives as Yulu enters a new stage focused on scaling its fleet, expanding its geographic presence and strengthening infrastructure for its urban mobility and logistics operations. He said Yulu has been EBITDA profitable since April 2025, while PAT profitability is expected to become the next major financial milestone, potentially during the following year.

Profitability Remains Central to Yulu’s Listing Strategy

Gupta described an eventual public listing as the result of building sustainable financial and operational performance rather than as the immediate objective. The company intends to establish the metrics needed to support a viable listing, including stronger profitability and a scalable operating model. The latest capital injection gives Yulu additional room to expand while continuing to improve its financial position. According to Gupta, the business has moved beyond an earlier phase in which proving the durability and economics of its vehicles made debt financing difficult. Its growing maturity and profitability are now allowing Yulu to consider a more balanced funding structure.

Why Yulu Is Increasing Its Use of Debt

The Series C round also signals a significant shift in Yulu’s use of debt. Historically, the company depended heavily on equity because investors and lenders remained uncertain about vehicle life, utilisation and the number of kilometres the vehicles could reliably cover. After reaching EBITDA profitability, Yulu was able to raise nearly $10 million in debt, and Gupta now expects debt to become an increasingly important source of capital. The company is seeking non-dilutive funding at scale, while equity will continue supporting capital expenditure until PAT profitability is achieved. After that milestone, Gupta expects capex to be funded entirely through debt.

Funding Strategy Focuses on Value Creation

The latest funding is therefore intended to strengthen both growth capacity and the balance sheet. Part of the equity proceeds will finance capital expenditure while Yulu continues moving towards PAT profitability, while the debt component provides non-dilutive capital for expansion. Gupta expects this structure to improve the company’s ability to raise larger debt facilities as the business grows. The approach also reflects Yulu’s stated preference for financial discipline ahead of a potential listing. Rather than relying on valuation momentum, the company wants its future public-market proposition to be supported by measurable operating performance, stronger margins and demonstrated value creation.

Yulu Wants Metrics to Drive Future Valuation

Gupta said Yulu intends to approach the public markets differently from startup businesses that have been driven primarily by high-growth narratives or speculative valuations. He said the company has spent nine years building its underlying business and has focused on operational metrics rather than vanity measures. The latest funding round, led by GEF Capital Partners, is viewed by Yulu as validation of its business model and its ability to deploy growth capital toward a future public-market position. Gupta expects the company’s eventual valuation to reflect margins, operating execution and competitive advantages developed over time rather than hype surrounding the listing.

From Shared Mobility to Urban Infrastructure

Yulu’s business has also expanded substantially beyond the shared-mobility proposition with which it began. Gupta now describes the company as an urban mobility and livelihood infrastructure business spanning vehicles, technology, data, applications, service infrastructure and battery swapping. The company is targeting a fleet of 200,000 vehicles over the next two years, with quick commerce currently representing its largest business driver. Almost half of Yulu’s revenue comes from quick commerce, while food delivery and newer quick-service applications contribute much of the remainder. Gupta acknowledged the concentration but said the opportunity is broader than any single delivery platform.

Geographic Expansion and New Mobility Use Cases

The company is positioning its vehicles for a wider range of urban delivery and service applications as demand for hyperlocal movement of goods and services expands. Yulu vehicles are being used for quick commerce and food delivery as well as activities including home cooking, cleaning, salons and spas. Yulu currently operates across 12 cities, with direct operations in four and franchise partners covering eight. Over the next 12 months, it plans to expand to 20 cities. Growth within existing locations will include additional service centres, customer touch points and battery-swapping infrastructure, while new cities will add another layer to the company’s geographic expansion strategy.

Yulu Express Broadens the Vehicle Portfolio

Yulu is also broadening its product range through Yulu Express, a two-seat vehicle designed to carry higher payloads than its original single-seat, low-speed products. Gupta said the Express is an extension rather than a departure from Yulu’s established model, because it uses the company’s existing technology and operating infrastructure to address additional use cases. The fleet expansion is expected to increase demand for battery swapping through Yuma, Yulu’s joint venture with Magna. Yulu remains Yuma’s largest customer, while Yuma is also expanding its network for other applications, including electric three-wheelers, creating closely linked growth paths for both businesses.

Battery Swapping Must Scale With Fleet Growth

Battery-swapping capacity will become increasingly important as Yulu scales its fleet. Each Yulu bike currently requires roughly 1.5 battery swaps per day, meaning 100,000 vehicles would require about 150,000 swaps daily. Because the larger Express vehicles are expected to consume more energy, Gupta estimates that a 200,000-vehicle Yulu fleet could require Yuma to handle approximately 350,000-400,000 swaps each day for Yulu alone. Including Yuma’s other customers, total daily swapping volumes could reach 500,000-600,000 at that stage. The figures illustrate how infrastructure capacity must expand alongside vehicle deployment and geographic growth.

Reliability, Data and Infrastructure Form the Competitive Moat

As competition increases across electric last-mile mobility and quick commerce, Gupta believes Yulu’s strongest competitive advantage will come from the combination of product reliability, data, infrastructure and customer trust rather than from the vehicles alone. The company’s platform has undergone three major changes and more than 100 vehicle-level modifications, including six iterations of its current Bajaj platform. Connected vehicles provide Yulu with detailed information about component failures, operating conditions and city-specific issues. Gupta views this accumulated product experience as an advantage that cannot be created quickly through funding alone, because it depends on years of real-world operating data and refinement.

Infrastructure and Customer Trust Add Barriers to Entry

Infrastructure is another part of the company’s competitive barrier. Establishing compliant service centres and battery-swapping stations requires approvals, electrical infrastructure and the operational capability to maintain a reliable network. Gupta considers trust particularly important because many Yulu users depend on the vehicles for their livelihoods. This makes vehicle availability and reliability directly relevant to customers’ incomes. The company therefore sees credibility as something built through consistent execution rather than marketing. Combined with its accumulated data, service network and product iterations, Yulu believes this operating foundation can provide resilience as more competitors enter electric last-mile mobility and delivery markets.

People Mobility Remains an Unfinished Agenda

Despite the rapid expansion of goods and service mobility, Yulu has not abandoned its original goal of improving urban people mobility. The company was founded around reducing traffic and air pollution, while improving livelihoods became an additional objective after the Covid-19 period. Its initial shared-mobility model focused on first- and last-mile journeys, but that activity was deprioritised during the pandemic. Gupta now describes people mobility as an unfinished agenda. Yulu eventually wants to reduce the difficulty of reaching metro stations and travelling short urban distances, especially where taxis are unavailable or too expensive. However, the company plans to revisit that opportunity only after its core business is firmly established.

Frequently Asked Questions

What revenue level does Yulu expect before becoming IPO-ready?
Yulu expects to become ready for a potential public listing after reaching annual revenue of ₹1,200-1,500 crore and strengthening its profitability and operating metrics. Co-founder and CEO Amit Gupta said the company has already achieved EBITDA profitability, beginning in April 2025, while PAT profitability is the next major milestone. The company’s latest $93 million Series C funding is intended to support fleet expansion, infrastructure development and continued capital expenditure while it works toward that target. Yulu views the listing as an outcome of business performance rather than the primary objective.

How will Yulu’s battery-swapping requirements change as its fleet grows?
Yulu expects battery-swapping demand to rise sharply as its fleet expands toward 200,000 vehicles over the next two years. Each existing bike requires roughly 1.5 swaps daily, while higher-energy Express vehicles are expected to increase overall consumption. At 200,000 vehicles, Yuma could handle around 350,000-400,000 daily swaps for Yulu alone, according to Gupta. Including other customers, total swapping volumes could reach 500,000-600,000 per day. This infrastructure expansion is therefore an important part of supporting Yulu’s fleet growth, geographic expansion and broader urban mobility operations.