Torus Motion started out building defence robots. Importing motors made it build its own

India assembles millions of electric two- and three-wheelers, but the motors that drive many of them are still imported. Torus Motion, a Chennai startup that used to be called Torus Robotics, is one of a small group of companies trying to change that. Its founders did not set out to make motors. They became motor makers because they could not get the ones they needed.

A pivot forced by the supply chain

The company was founded in 2019 by Vignesh M, Vibhakar Senthil and Abbhi Vignesh K, The Hindu reported. The Times of India reported that the founders were mechatronics batchmates at SRM and that their interest in electric drives began with a solar car project in college.

Their first business was robots for defence. According to The Times of India, the team found that more than five of every eight months on a project went into importing motors. That experience pushed them to design their own, and the motor became the product. The paper reported that Torus's motors are about 50% lighter and up to 15% more efficient than comparable motors, and that very few companies make motors below 25 kW for electric two- and three-wheelers in India.

The seed round and the state backing

In February 2024, the company raised $470,000 in a seed round led by the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation through the Tamil Nadu Emerging Sector Seed Fund, with Forge and SINE, the incubator at IIT Bombay, also taking part, The Hindu and Business Today reported. The Hindu reported that the company had received support under a UNIDO programme for low carbon technology, had its motors validated by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency and was backed by StartupTN and EDII Tamil Nadu.

That is a lot of public support for a young hardware company, and it reflects how Tamil Nadu sees the opportunity. The state is one of India's largest automotive and EV manufacturing hubs, and a local supply of motors fits its industrial policy.

Where the motors go now

Torus has since widened its pitch beyond vehicles. StopDown, which covered the company under the Torus Motion name in February 2026, described its aim to change how electric motors are designed and deployed across industries. Third Derivative, the climate tech accelerator, lists the company in its D3 cohorts 25-3 and 25-4 and says its motors reach more than 96% efficiency, with energy savings of as much as 60% in HVAC and EV applications. Those are company figures as reported by the accelerator; we did not find independent test data in the sources we read.

Bharat Innovates, which listed Torus Motion among the startups at its June 2026 event, reported that the company had raised $700,000 and had more than 25 customers.

Why efficiency numbers matter

Electric motors account for a large share of industrial electricity use, in pumps, fans, compressors and air conditioning. A motor that is a few points more efficient, multiplied across thousands of machines that run all day, adds up to real savings. In vehicles, a lighter and more efficient motor can mean a smaller battery for the same range, and the battery is the most expensive part of an EV.

That is why the 50% weight reduction and up to 15% efficiency gain reported by The Times of India, and the efficiency figure above 96% listed by Third Derivative, are the claims to watch. If they hold up in independent testing and at volume, Torus has a product with a clear economic case in both markets.

What to watch

Torus's funding is small for a company that wants to make hardware at scale. The $470,000 seed round in 2024 and the $700,000 total reported by Bharat Innovates would not pay for high-volume motor production on their own. The next milestones are a larger round, named vehicle or industrial customers, and published test results. The broader question is whether Indian EV makers, who have long relied on imported motors, will switch to a local supplier once one can match price and reliability. Torus is a direct test of that.