Entrepreneur Shree Kalluri wants to help Madison go green. And he's starting with a fleet of three dozen Tesla Model 3s that aim to reduce greenhouse emissions and help make Madison a more sustainable city.
Last year Kalluri founded Zerology, a shared-mobility startup that focuses on connecting riders with zero-emission electric vehicles. In 2019 the startup began by leasing Teslas to Madison cab company Green Cab, and just this month Zerology announced it acquired Green Cab.
Zerology and Green Cab today operate a fleet of 36 electric vehicles, allowing people to request rides via iPhone or Android app, book online or call in advance. Kalluri said in an interview with Wisconsin Inno that the company expects to grow its fleet of cars to 50 in the near future, and is doing around 500 rides per day.
Zerology is also currently piloting a car sharing service that expects to launch to the public in the coming months. The car sharing service will give users options to rent a Zerology-owned Tesla (a la ZipCar) or rent an electric vehicle from another Madison resident (similar to Turo's peer-to-peer car sharing service).
"We’re looking at a hybrid of those two models," Kalluri said.
The goal, Kalluri said, is to get more cars off the road, cut CO2 emissions, and make electric vehicles more accessible to Madison residents.
"I became aware of the calamity that is going on in the world with climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, tsunamis, and the havoc that as humans we’ve created on planet earth," Kalluri said.
Kalluri, who last year went completely carless himself, said he's so far raised $5 million in funding for Zerology in a friends and family round. Last year, Kalluri sold his previous business Forte Research Systems, a Madison software company he led for nearly 20 years.
Kalluri said Zerology is set to begin fundraising for an additional $5 million seed round.
Zerology will eventually expand to Milwaukee, other cities across Wisconsin and ultimately other metro areas across the U.S., but for now is staying close to home.
"We want to completely solve the transportation problem in Madison first," he said.
