BluSmart, India’s leading all-electric ride-hailing startup positioned as a major competitor to Uber, appears to have abruptly halted its services in several cities following an investigation by India’s financial markets regulator into its co-founders’ related enterprise, Gensol Engineering.
Customers in key locations such as Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, and Mumbai report that BluSmart’s app is now unable to offer rides, displaying no available booking slots. The suspension was confirmed when Delhi Airport issued an announcement indicating that BluSmart’s services at the airport were temporarily unavailable. The disruption has frustrated users, some of whom expressed concerns over accessing funds stored in their BluSmart digital wallets.
This sudden interruption in operations coincides with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) initiating an official inquiry into Gensol Engineering, a publicly listed firm that shares BluSmart’s co-founders Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi. According to SEBI’s allegations, the Jaggi brothers diverted substantial loan amounts originally secured for electric vehicle initiatives into personal assets, including luxury real estate acquisitions near India’s capital.
Shortly after the announcement of these allegations, the brothers stepped down from managerial roles at Gensol, complying immediately with SEBI’s directive. Although BluSmart’s service availability was disrupted and customers negatively impacted, the startup reportedly provided few updates to its investors regarding the situation. One investor expressed surprise, acknowledging that uncertainty surrounding Gensol may have significantly contributed to BluSmart’s current troubles.
Until recently, BluSmart had shared promising financial metrics with its investors. Earlier this month, the company revealed achieving annual recurring revenue (ARR) of approximately 8.4 billion Indian rupees ($98 million) during 2024, alongside monthly revenue figures of around 700 million Indian rupees. In the same period, the startup successfully expanded its fleet from 6,000 electric vehicles to roughly 8,700.
BluSmart attracted interest from several reputable global investors, including BP Ventures and Mayfield India Fund. Most recently, a $25 million funding round led by Switzerland-based impact investment fund ResponsAbility targeted expansion of BluSmart’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure, placing the Gurugram-based startup’s valuation near $250 million.
Speculation earlier in the week suggested that BluSmart might consider repositioning itself as a fleet partner for ride-hailing giant Uber. Gensol Engineering, which leases electric vehicles to BluSmart, denied any such plans in a regulatory disclosure, denying ongoing conversations about merger, asset sales, or other undisclosed transactions.
The co-founders have remained relatively quiet amid the unfolding turmoil. Anmol Jaggi did not respond to requests for comment, and co-founder Puneet K. Goyal only shared social media screenshots indicating he was caught indirectly in the controversy surrounding corporate governance at Gensol.
