Bengaluru-based energy-tech company, Exponent Energy, on Tuesday announced the launch of Exponent One, a fintech and asset management venture focused on commercial electric vehicles. The new entity will be led by Sandeep Divakaran as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer.
Exponent One will operate as a 360-degree underwriting and asset-management platform for commercial EVs. It will focus on three-wheelers, four-wheelers, light commercial vehicles, buses and trucks. The company said the venture aims to address a barrier to commercial EV adoption that is access to financing.
Exponent One has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding from AdvantEdge Founders. The funds will support early rollout and expansion across commercial EV hubs.
Sandeep Divakaran said existing lending models do not reflect the realities of commercial vehicle operators.
“Commercial vehicle driver-owners operate real-world businesses with daily variable earnings and limited buffers, yet lending models are still run on personal credit rails, with fixed monthly EMI assumptions,” he said. This inflexible approach does not serve drivers and makes the ecosystem view commercial EV financing as high-risk. “If the driver-owner fails, the system fails,” he added.
Divakaran said the company’s lending model will adapt to real-world earnings instead of monthly averages. It will assess asset quality, charging patterns and energy consumption.
The platform will embed insurance and offer assured buybacks. It will also provide savings, top-up loans and upgrade options.
Arun Vinayak, Founder and CEO of Exponent Energy, said, “Viable financing products are needed to transform the higher upfront capital expenditure in EV energy into meaningful operating expense benefits for driver-owners.”
He said electric commercial vehicles are fundamentally energy assets. The company’s ability to track battery performance daily using real-time energy data gives it an advantage in understanding these assets and assessing their residual value. “This is a first of its kind partnership, with energy and financing coming together to provide integrated adaptive finance and asset management solutions,” Vinayak said.
Kunal Khattar, Founder of AdvantEdge Founders, said financing must align with how EV assets earn and age. “By building a durable financial layer tailored to the EV ownership lifecycle, the company is addressing the core risk mismatches that have held this industry back,” he said.
Exponent One was co-founded in December 2025 as a subsidiary of Exponent Energy. It will partner with regulated financial institutions and insurers to scale EV financing.
(With inputs from BL intern Tejaswini S)
Published on February 17, 2026