Maxson Lewis (right) and Darryl Dias, Founders, Magenta EV Solutions
Navi Mumbai-based, Electric Vehicle (EV) charging solutions company, Magenta EV Solutions Pvt. Ltd. confirmed commitment in excess of USD 15 million (INR 120 Crores) in Series A funding from eminent Indian-American cardiologist, philanthropist billionaire and business serial entrepreneur, Dr. Kiran Patel.
Incorporated in 2017, Magenta was founded by Maxson Lewis and Darryl Dias. The duo have combined global experience of over 3 decades in management consulting, automotive & renewables industries. Over the last three years, Magenta has established itself as a key player in the EV charging market under the ChargeGrid brand. The company is known for its forward-thinking hardware and software solutions and provides a spectrum of services in the EV value chain from in-house designed charging hardware, charging software, charging & Installation services to technical consulting. Magenta aims to smart-charge 30% of all Indian EVs amounting to 3000 GW.hr of power annually by 2030.
Seed funded by HPCL & incubated by Shell, ChargeGrid is also backed by the Microsoft Startup Program to further boost its advanced technology platform. Currently operating in 10+ cities, ChargeGrid has signed multiple high-value customer contracts and continues to rapidly expand with many new contracts signed in just the last 3 months.
Innovation is the core mantra for ChargeGrid’s success story. The company recently launched its new streetlamp integrated EV charger, ChargeGrid FLARE, alongside ChargeGrid PRISMA, a residential EV charging solution for high-rises. These products are just two in a larger line of new unique & affordable EV solutions under development. Magenta has plans to introduce the world’s smallest EV charger over the next few months which is anticipated to become a new industry-leading benchmark. This latest round of investment will be used to develop more EV charging solutions and to grow an international footprint.
With Dr. Kiran Patel coming aboard, Magenta would be exposed to global markets, backed by financial and strategic management bandwidth. Dr. Patel has been investing and supporting start-ups and early- stage businesses in India and across the globe and mentor them through their scale-up journey. Most recently, Dr. Patel was instrumental in taking public the India-based chemical manufacturer, Anupam Rasayan, of which Dr. Patel is Chairman. Anupam Rasayan went public in March of this year at a valuation of over $750 million, fueled by a total capital infusion of $100 million from Dr. Patel which began in 2018. Other recent investments include a $ 60 million dollar investment in 2018 into the medical device company, Concept Medical. This year, Concept Medical became the first India-based company to file for an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) with the USFDA.
Dr. Kiran Patel moved to Tampa, Florida in 1982 and quickly expanded his cardiology practice into a physician practice management company diverging into 14 practices. Shortly after, Dr. Patel exhibited his business acumen and leadership abilities after acquiring a struggling healthcare maintenance organization (HMO), Wellcare Health Plans, growing the business into the 5th largest Medicaid HMO in the country with annual revenues in excess of $1.2 billion dollars. After exiting Wellcare, Dr. Patel’s talents for scaling billion-dollar businesses was displayed when he started a new insurance company, America’s 1st Choice Holdings of Florida. After considerable organic growth and strategic acquisitions of Tampa Bay-based companies including Medicare Advantage Health Plans, Freedom Health and Optimum Health, Dr. Patel grew America’s 1st Choice to annual revenues of over $1.6 billion. k
Most notable are Dr. Kiran Patel’s considerable education and healthcare based philanthropic activity. In 2018, Dr. Patel committed $200M towards real estate and facility expansion in the medical education complex that will be part of NSU’s Tampa Bay Regional Campus in Clearwater, FL. Dr. Patel’s philanthropic endeavors under his family office now spans across the globe.
The support to Magenta reflects Dr. Patel’s long-standing initiative of supporting a brighter, cleaner future. In 2005, Dr. Kiran Patel’s lead gift resulted in the construction of the Kiran C Patel Center for Global Solutions. The University of South Florida also created The Kiran C Patel College of Global Sustainability (PCGS). PCGS, now a degree-earning college also produces research and innovations to help cities around the world reduce their ecological footprint while supporting a healthier, more livable and resilient environment.
“My wife and I have always believed in building a legacy by partnering with companies who are passionate in making this planet better for the next generation. I met the Magenta team over lunch when I was in India and within minutes into the discussion, I felt I found a team who are as passionate as I am, to bring about a difference. We were impressed by the speed & execution capabilities of Magenta’s team, with this funding round ChargeGrid will continue its growth trajectory in even faster pace and tap the huge EV Industry which has already started picking up over the last couple of years. This is just the beginning of my investments into Magenta and we have carved out a larger investment chest from our international family office. I have a vision for Magenta which goes beyond the Indian sub-continent and with this energetic team with me, we are bound to make Magenta the next billion-dollar company in our portfolio.”
Dr. Kiran Patel
“Magenta is committed to solving EV charging challenges with made in India, made for India solutions. These solutions which we have developed not only for the price sensitive India market, but will have appeal for the international market as well. We are committed to empowering electric mobility and making electricity clean by providing smart & affordable EV charging solutions. The growth in EV industry in India has been outpacing the automotive industry and with the current ongoing funding round, we will spearhead the EV growth by aggressively deploying charging stations while leveraging our advanced technology platform for scalability. With a mentor like Dr. Kiran Patel participating in Magenta, we stand immensely strengthened to establish a global cutting-edge EV infrastructure and mobility business.”
Mr. Maxson Lewis, MD of Magenta
Earlier, Magenta had raised a pre series funding from JAN (JITO Angel Network) and LetsVenture in 2020. Magenta was seed funded by HPCL in 2018, incubated by Shell in 2019 and selected under the Microsoft Global Start Up program in 2020.
