Ather Energy becomes India's newest unicorn after raising $71 million

Bengaluru-based electric scooter maker Ather Energy, which competes with the listed EV giant Ola Electric, has reportedly joined the unicorn startup club after raising $71 million (or Rs 596 crore) in a funding round led by government-owned National Investment and Infrastructure Fund.

National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited is an Indian public sector company that maintains infrastructure investment funds for international and Indian investors anchored by the Government of India.

Valuation rises to $1.3 billion

While there has been no official announcement regarding the fundraising, multiple media reports suggest that the EV maker, which primarily operates in the premium segment, has achieved a valuation of $1.3 billion.

Prior to Ather Energy, another Bengaluru-based startup, Rapido, became a unicorn after raising over Rs 1,000 crore in funding from existing investor WestBridge Capital at a post-money valuation of $1 billion.

Backing from notable investors

Ather Energy is already backed by prominent investors, including Stride Ventures, Hero MotoCorp, GIC, Caladium Investments, Herald Ventures, InnoVen Capital, and Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath.

Notably, Hero MotoCorp is a significant shareholder, holding approximately 40% stake in the Ola Electric rival. In June, Hero MotoCorp announced plans to increase its stake by 2.2% in the company for Rs 124 crore. 

Partnership with Amara Raja Energy

Earlier this month, Ather Energy partnered with Amara Raja Energy & Mobility Ltd.

The partnership enabled Amara Raja's subsidiary, Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies, to develop and supply Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) and Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) lithium-ion cells tailored for Ather's electric scooters.

Planning for IPO

Founded in 2013 by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain, Ather Energy designs, manufactures, and sells electric two-wheelers, including popular models such as the Ather 450X, Ather 450 Plus, Ather 450S, and Ather Rizta.

The startup also has an extensive network of over 1,400 charging stations across 100 cities.

While its competitor Ola Electric recently went public, Ather Energy also converted itself into a public limited company in late June as part of its plans to launch an IPO in the near future.

For FY24, Ather Energy's revenue stood at Rs 1,789 crore, compared to Rs 1,783 crore in the previous fiscal year, according to the annual report of Hero MotoCorp.

The company's net loss increased to Rs 1,059.7 crore in FY24 from Rs 864.5 crore in FY23.