Chara Technologies raises $6 Mn in Series A led by Arkam Ventures

Chara Technologies, a deep-tech powertrain solutions company developing rare-earth-free motors and controllers, has raised Rs 52 crore (about $6 million) in Series A funding round led by Arkam Ventures along with participation from Exfinity Venture Partners, Kalaari Capital, and IIMA Ventures.

The Bengaluru-based company had previously raised $4.75 million in its pre Series A funding round led by Exfinity Venture Partners.

 The funds will be used to set up a new Bengaluru factory, launch advanced motor variants, and enhance its powertrain and in-house tech capabilities, Chara Technologies said in a press release.

Co-founded in 2019 by Bhaktha Keshavachar, Mahalingam Koushik, and Ravi Prasad, Chara Technologies specializes in the development of rare-earth-free electric motors and controllers for various applications, including Electric vehicles, both on-highway and off-highway, Industrial applications, and Agricultural equipment.

According to Chara Technologies, it has built a synchronous reluctance architecture that eliminates magnets entirely, making its motors 15-20% more cost-effective and significantly more sustainable, while still matching the performance of PMSMs (Permanent magnet synchronous motors). Its products deliver improved vehicle range, reduce energy losses, and lower total cost of ownership (TCO).

Chara’s proprietary motor control algorithms, power electronics architecture, and software form the foundation of its end-to-end powertrain system, enabling superior system efficiency and scalability across applications. 

The firm boasts of close to 100 customers, including Greaves Cotton, BullWork, Sonalika, VST, and European OEMs. With Greaves Cotton, Chara has entered into a strategic partnership to jointly manufacture rare-earth-free synchronous reluctance motors and controllers at Greaves. 

With footprints in Belgium and Italy, Chara  plans to target North America and a deeper presence in Europe. The company is also targeting a 6x top line growth, from FY25 to FY26, with a goal of selling 40,000 motors by FY27.