From Drivers to Fleet Owners: How Milo Drive is Building the Blueprint for India’s Electric Mobility Future
The Indian electric vehicle (EV) narrative has long been dominated by discussions of charging infrastructure, battery costs, and government subsidies. While these elements remain crucial, a deeper challenge has been quietly emerging: the lack of a scalable, intelligent system to manage the operational complexity of electric fleets.
Enter Milo Drive, a Bengaluru-based e-mobility startup that has just raised $2.4 million in a seed funding round to build exactly that missing layer . This funding, co-led by Caret Capital and Antler India, signals a significant shift in how India’s EV transition is being approached—not just as an infrastructure problem, but as a technology and entrepreneurship challenge .
Beyond the Vehicle: An Operating System for the EV Economy
Founded in 2024 by Monil Jayeshkumar Khatri and Vishal Jewrajka, Milo Drive is distinct in its asset-light, technology-first philosophy . The startup does not simply own a fleet of electric vehicles. Instead, it provides a comprehensive technology platform that empowers thousands of small fleet operators and individual drivers to run profitable electric mobility businesses . This platform functions as a unified operating system, integrating vehicle access, charging intelligence, demand aggregation, and data-driven fleet management into a single interface .
“At the heart of Milo Drive is a simple belief: a driver or operator should not be limited by one app, one channel, or one uncertain source of income,” explained Khatri . The platform aggregates demand from ride-hailing platforms, corporate travel bookings, airport transfers, and car rentals, ensuring vehicles are utilized optimally . By automating nearly 90% of manual fleet operations and using machine learning for ride assignment, Milo Drive claims to have already improved driver earnings by approximately 20% . This focus on the economic viability of the driver is central to its mission.
Seizing a Market on the Cusp of Transformation
The timing of this funding round is strategic, capitalizing on a market poised for explosive growth. India’s EV ride-hailing market is projected to grow from $240 million in 2025 to a staggering **$4.2 billion by 2030**, representing a compound annual growth rate of 77% . However, as Karan Mittal, managing partner at Caret Capital, pointed out, EV penetration in cab fleets today is still below 5%, and the infrastructure required to scale this transition is largely missing .
Milo Drive is stepping in to fill this gap by making it economically viable for individual drivers and small operators to own and run electric vehicles, while also providing demand platforms with a reliable, technology-enabled EV supply .
The startup has already demonstrated strong execution capabilities, having powered more than one million rides to date . Its recent partnership with Citroën India to deploy 500 units of the ë-C3 electric vehicle underscores its growing credibility . This collaboration blends Citroën’s engineering and real-time battery performance data with Milo Drive’s Fleet OS, enabling entrepreneurs to build their own mobility businesses . This partnership is a clear sign that established automotive players are betting on platforms like Milo Drive to accelerate EV adoption .
A Sustainable Model for India’s Green Mobility Goals
Milo Drive’s model aligns perfectly with India’s broader sustainability and carbon reduction targets . The company is not just contributing to the proliferation of EVs but is also building the economic scaffolding that makes this transition sustainable for the people who drive the industry—the drivers and small fleet operators.
As Nitin Sharma, founding partner at Antler India, noted, “The biggest constraint to EV adoption today is not demand from ride-hailing platforms but the lack of operators capable of running EV fleets efficiently at scale” . Milo Drive is directly addressing this constraint.
With the fresh capital, the company plans to expand its multi-channel demand network, onboard more small fleet operators, and enhance its charging intelligence capabilities . By building the technology layer that connects drivers, vehicles, and demand, Milo Drive is accelerating India’s journey toward a cleaner, more inclusive, and more efficient transportation ecosystem . It is transforming gig mobility workers from dependent drivers into empowered fleet owners, and in doing so, is building the blueprint for India’s electric mobility future .
