Electric mobility startup Drivn secures $80 million from Nomura

Drivn, an electric mobility platform, has secured financing commitments of up to $80 million from Nomura.

The company said the funding, mainly in the form of senior secured debt with some equity, will be released in two phases and used to deploy nearly 1,000 electric buses and heavy trucks across India’s intercity transport routes and industrial logistics hub.

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Manav Bansal, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Drivn, said, “For electric mobility to work at scale in heavy transport, the solution has to go beyond vehicles. It also has to address capital intensity, operational risk, and long-term reliability.”

Alpna Jain, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer, added, “This financing allows us to build an integrated operating model, where our partners can run electric buses and trucks optimising their balance-sheets, and where performance, uptime, and lifecycle outcomes are engineered into the system from day one.”

Kushagra Pant, Managing Director and Head of Private Credit, Asia ex-Japan at Nomura, said, “From an energy transition perspective, heavy commercial transport represents the most high-impact leverage point for decarbonization. Drivn stood out for us because it is not approaching this as a financing play alone but as a longterm infrastructure platform that combines asset ownership, data and operational discipline. We see strong potential in this model to scale india’s electric corridors while generates durable, infrastructure grade returns.”

About Drivn 

Founded in 2025 by Manav Bansal and Alpna Jain, Drivn follows an asset owning model where it purchases electric buses and trucks and leases them on longterm contracts. It focuses on intercity transport and heavy trucking sectors that still rely heavily on diesel and have attracted limited interest from traditional lenders because of high costs and operational risks.

The company has built a technology platform to monitor vehicle performance, battery health, routes, loads, temperature, and driver behaviour.

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Drivn has announced its first commercial partnerships, including a 150-bus intercity rollout with Fresh Bus, a 50-bus agreement with Zing Bus, and a fleet of 78 electric trucks for Enviiiro, part of Inland World Logistics.

On the manufacturing front, Drivn has partnered with Murugappa Group’s Montra Electric to source 55-tonne electric trucks.

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