Smart Joules Raises $10 Mn Series B Led by SBI Ventures for AI-Driven Energy Efficiency Expansion in India

Energy-efficiency start-up Smart Joules said on Wednesday it has raised $10 million in a Series B round led by SVL SME Neev II Fund (SBI Ventures), with participation from strategic investors Waaree Renewable Technologies and Spectrum Impact.

The company said the capital will accelerate its expansion into manufacturing, building automation and district-cooling projects, while strengthening its technology, analytics and field-execution capabilities.

The new funding, it said, will help scale these services across commercial and industrial sites as part of its push to position energy efficiency as “the first fuel” in the built environment.

Track Record & Targets

Smart Joules said it has conserved 32.1 crore kWh of energy to date, cut 240,000 tonnes of CO₂ and delivered roughly ₹266 crore in customer energy savings. Management reiterated a wider ambition to eliminate 29 million tonnes of CO₂ by 2030 and said the new investment will be a “significant step” toward that goal.

“We have matured AI and IoT capabilities, built deep cooling and automation expertise, and proven that decarbonisation can deliver strong financial returns,” founder and CEO Arjun P. Gupta said. “Partnering with Spectrum, Waaree and Neev II will let us take efficiency to new sectors and larger-scale projects across India.”

Strategic Partners

Investors framed the round as both an impact and growth bet. Prem Prabhakar, MD & CEO of SBI Ventures, said Smart Joules combines technology and measurable environmental outcomes and will enable energy efficiency at scale. Viren Doshi of Waaree called the investment part of a broader energy-transition play, noting Cooling-as-a-Service as a fast-emerging global model. Mirik Gogri of Spectrum Impact highlighted the firm’s performance-linked delivery model as key to mainstreaming decarbonisation.

Use of Proceeds

Smart Joules will deploy proceeds to enter new verticals, expand its cooling operations, enhance DeJoule’s analytics and scale on-ground teams for execution. The company emphasised that its asset-light, service-led approach removes upfront capital barriers for customers while guaranteeing savings through performance contracting.

With India confronting rising cooling demand and industrial energy use, investors say efficiency-first solutions can deliver rapid emissions reductions at lower cost than new generation alone. Smart Joules positions itself at that intersection, offering both carbon impact and unit-economics that appeal to corporate decision-makers seeking to cut costs and meet climate targets.

Founded in 2014, Smart Joules offers performance-based efficiency solutions through products such as JoulePays (energy-efficiency contracting), JouleCool (Cooling-as-a-Service) and DeJoule (an AI-enabled building management system).