Deep tech startup Viridian Ingni Propulsion raises ₹1.47 Cr in pre-seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures

Chennai : Deeptech focused Viridian Ingni Propulsion, a Chennai-based propulsion technology company, has raised ₹1.47 crore in a pre-seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures. The company has additionally received ₹53.75 lakh in grants from SIPCOT (Tamil Nadu Government), MEITY Startup Hub, NIDHI PRAYAS under the Department of Science and Technology and Ministry of Heavy Industries, the IIT Madras Research Park’s RTBI programme, and Cummins CSR.

The fresh capital will enable The Propulsion Company to move from validated prototypes into pilot production. Key priorities include developing motor stamping tooling and dies, setting up a pilot production line and small manufacturing facility, completing ARAI/ICAT certification and homologation, validating motor controller firmware, key engineering and business teams, and working capital for first customer deliveries against existing letters of intent.

The Propulsion Company develops complete electric propulsion systems- motor, controller and firmware design and validation in-house. Unlike most propulsion suppliers in India who build only one part of this stack, Viridian delivers all three as a single validated unit. Its system systems are built for applications ranging from electric vehicles, drones, robotics and industrial machinery.

Mitesh Shah, Co-founder, IPV, said, “Viridian Ingni is addressing a critical gap in India’s EV and propulsion ecosystem by developing its entire technology stack, including motors, controllers and firmware, in-house. Its ability to adapt motor technology across applications, from e-rickshaws to drones, sets it apart in both domestic and global markets. We believe this engineering-led team has the potential to make Indian-built propulsion systems the preferred choice for OEMs. IPV is excited to support the company as it moves towards pilot production and customer deliveries.

Viridian Ingni Propulsion was founded in February 2024 by Sriram G, Founder & CEO, who brings close to 14 years of experience in electric vehicle and propulsion systems engineering, including seven years at IIT Madras’s EV research centres before starting the company.

Commenting on the investment, Sriram G, Founder & CEO, The Propulsion Company, said, “When we started Viridian Ingni, the conviction was simple, India designs very few of its own propulsion systems, and almost none end-to-end. We build the motor, the controller and the firmware together, and we choose the right magnet technology for each application rather than forcing one solution everywhere. IPV backed that thesis early and their network has already opened doors that would have taken us far longer to reach on our own. This round takes us from validated prototypes into pilot production, certification and our first customer deliveries. The goal is to make Indian-designed propulsion the default choice for EV, drone and industrial OEMs, not the fallback.”

The company tailored magnet technology to each use cases : rare-earth-free ferrite PMa-SynRM motors for e-rickshaws, two-wheelers, HVAC, compressors and solar pumps, and rare-earth PMSM motors for drones, cobots, AGVs and marine applications where power density is critical. A shared design platform across product lines is intended to lower incremental cost and time-to-market for each new application, while also reducing Indian OEMs’ reliance on imported rare-earth magnets from China.

Viridian Ingni is currently pre-revenue, moving from validated prototype to pilot production, with a five-member, engineering-led team operating out of IIT Madras Research Park, Chennai.

The company holds letters of intent for 350 motors across two customers, Crop Xplore and Yali Mobility, and is targeting the automotive EV, drone/UAV, robotics and industrial machinery markets as it moves from validated prototype to pilot production.

India’s EV motor market was valued at approximately USD 0.90 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 2.89 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of around 21.5 percent, according to MarkNtel Advisors. Globally, the EV traction motor market was estimated at USD 12.57 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 74.17 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of about 30.2 percent, per Grand View Research.

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