Here at Geovation Scotland we are pleased to have data analytics startup, Vahanomy join our Edinburgh offices as our new Entrepreneur-in-residence (EIR). This is giving them a place to scale alongside other like-minded startups and innovators.

We spoke with co-founder Arun Gopinath to find out more about Vahanomy’s mission to aid the decarbonisation of transport.

Give us a brief overview of your company?

Vahanomy was established in 2019 with the mission to contribute to the decarbonisation of transport.

We initially set out to be charging point operators but pivoted to be a data and analytics company in late 2020 after discovering the need for more information and data in this area. We are now focussed on accelerating the site discovery and rollout of EV charging infrastructure with two products:

1. CHRGR.io  – the recently launched online marketplace for the EV charging infrastructure ecosystem
2. Location Data Tool to analyse the suitability, viability, and risks of locations for potential EV charging points to aid in site selection

Tell us a little bit about yourself / your team? 

The co-founders of Vahanomy, Arun Gopinath, Mridul Wadhwa and Srinivas Rao, bring over 90 years of combined entrepreneurial experience. Having worked in strategic and operational roles in technology and IT-enabled services, they have expertise in Vahanomy’s key market areas in the UK, US and India.

Arun Gopinath, CEO and co-founder, brings over 30 years of entrepreneurial and technology innovation experience to the business. He was an early mover in the internet service and presence provision market with RCMS Pvt Ltd. and Reddy Group. He subsequently co-founded RCMS Group LLC, offering disruptive and cutting-edge building information modelling services creating digital-first twins for large construction projects.

Arun is passionate about human rights, equality, anti-discrimination, and the environment.

Mridul Wadhwa is a co-founder and guides the company on strategy, leading the environmental, social and corporate governance aspects. Her work ensures that we stay true to our vision to be a kind company that believes in equality for all and a future where electric mobility, mobility hubs and autonomous vehicles will be used to contribute to the sustainability of our world.

In previous roles, Mridul has led, designed and implemented workforce training programmes at Convergys and Mphasis. Mridul is passionate about the environment, human rights, trains and 15-minute cities/20-minute neighbourhoods.

Srinivas Rao is a co-founder and leads the efforts in preparing the company to roll out its services in the US and markets outside the UK. He is a US-based entrepreneur and engineer who is also an investor in disruptive technologies.

Srinivas founded and continues to run Virginia based IT professional services company, AIMIC, since 2003 and his investments include smart metering company, WinAMR and YellowPages.in. He is an avid trail walker and collector of rare whiskies.

Overall, Vahanomy is a team of seven, with external technology development support. We are continuing to grow our team and are on the lookout for a Business Development Lead for our online marketplace for the EV charging infrastructure ecosystem, CHRGR.io and will be hiring for more development positions over the next few months.

What makes you excited about the problem you are solving? 

In the UK alone, the Competition and Marketing Authority (CMA) estimates up to 480,000 charging points will be required by 2030 to support electric vehicles on our roads.

Vahanomy’s products will help to remove bottlenecks in the site identification process and accelerate the rollout of this critical infrastructure required to decarbonise transport and meet net-zero targets.

The products also help to identify the most suitable EV infrastructure locations for end users, provide landlords the opportunity to get the best deals for their commercial real estate, and reduce the risk for operators and investors to allow them to get the best yield from their capital assets.

What does it mean to you / your team to be part of the Scottish tech start-up community?

The Scottish tech start-up community is vibrant and growing with a lot of innovative companies with exciting products that could bring about change. We love the fact that the community is collaborative and that there is an ecosystem to support us to scale up globally.

We are delighted to have been chosen as an Entrepreneur-in-residence by Geovation Scotland as it allows us to be a part of the Geovation Scotland innovation community, work alongside other start-ups, share ideas and experiences, and gain access to valuable resources including office space, meeting rooms, data and events.

Learn more

Head over to Vahanomy’s website and follow them on LinkedIn to keep up to date with progress and development.

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