A Planet-first Approach
Log9, a startup that is taking a planet-first approach, has been incorporating planet-conscious steps into its operations. It is an example of how a brand can achieve its target while keeping the planet as its centre. “We have always been very thoughtful of our expenditure, making sure whatever we do has a high-value upside towards sustainability and towards our business,” says Kartik Hajela, Co-founder and COO of Log9 Materials.
FY23 panned out to be a difficult year for Indian startups in terms of fundraising. However, Log9 raised USD 40 million in a mix of equity and debt in January. Moreover, it recorded a fourfold jump in revenue.
Sharing the company’s ultimate goal, Hajela says, “The vision of making India self-reliant in energy demands higher capital to set up bigger cell factories, for which we are soon starting our next round, which will be much bigger than the last one and will primarily be used to set up bigger cell manufacturing lines in India.”
Tech Revolution
The last five years were no less than a technological revolution. The pandemic has only complemented the trend and pushed the entire ecosystem to adopt the changes at a much faster rate. However, sailing in a different boat, hardware-focused deep-tech startups were nowhere in the future frame. Log9 is among those brands that are trying to build a resilient, customer-centric deep-tech hardware brand without making a noise. “Hardware does require more patience and higher capital than software technology, but it also has larger moats and long-term sustainability as a business,” Hajela explains.
The Underdog
From an investor’s lens, hardware tech was not among the safest bets amid uncertain market conditions. Highlighting the efforts he made to grab venture capital money, Hajela recalls, “It took us quite some time to raise our initial cheques to fund our research and to convince investors that this was worth it. Eventually, now we look at hardware as a sought-after sector for VCs and investors after seeing companies like Ather, Log9, Skyroot, etc. create a precedent of success stories in this sector.”
From customers to governments across the globe, everyone is evaluating companies on their sustainability goals and climate-conscious processes.
Sustainability as an output is not just an option but the future of businesses, and Log9 has realised the part it has to play in the battle to save the planet.
