Exponent Energy, an EV charging firm, introduces a finance division

Exponent Energy, a Bengaluru-based company known for its 15-minute EV charging technology, has launched a new EV financing arm called Exponent One. Cofounder and CEO Arun Vinayak said the new venture will help commercial electric vehicle (EV) owners get easier access to loans.

Exponent One will be led by Sandeep Divakaran, who earlier worked at Ola as CEO of its fleet management vertical. The new company will partner with non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) to provide loans to commercial EV buyers. It is also raising $2 million from mobility-focused investor AdvantEdge VC, which was one of Exponent’s earliest backers.

Vinayak said financing commercial vehicles is already difficult because drivers often have irregular income. With EVs, lenders are even more cautious due to concerns about battery life and resale value. However, he believes financing is key to increasing EV adoption and wants EVs to eventually become easier to finance than petrol or diesel vehicles.

Exponent Energy has raised nearly $45 million so far from investors such as Lightspeed, Eight Roads Ventures, and 3one4 Capital. In Exponent One, Exponent Energy will hold a 51% stake, AdvantEdge VC will own 25%, and the remaining stake will be with Divakaran and an ESOP pool.

The company plans to use data from its charging network to improve loan approvals. Since EVs and their earnings are digitally tracked, Exponent believes it can use AI and data insights to better assess risk and support driver-owners.

Divakaran said most current financing models depend mainly on credit scores and fixed income documents, which do not reflect the real earning patterns of commercial drivers. He explained that for drivers to succeed, three things are important: enough business demand, a reliable vehicle, and the driver’s ability to operate it well.

NBFCs currently finance around 60–70% of commercial vehicles in India. Kunal Khattar, founder of AdvantEdge, said Exponent One aims to solve the key risk issues that have slowed down electric fleet adoption and could help move the industry from pilot projects to large-scale use.