Ather Energy Raises $50 Mn In A Funding Round Led By Caladium Investment

Bangaluru-based electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ather Energy has raised $50 Mn (INR 400.6 Cr) in a funding round led by its existing investor Caladium Investment.

A regulatory filing with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) showed that the Ather Energy board has passed a special resolution to issue 51,359 Series E1 compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) at an issue price of INR 78,008 per share to raise the amount.

Caladium Investment invested INR 400 Cr in the round with Herald Square Ventures pumping in INR 64 Lakhs, the filings showed. 

The latest funding round comes on the heels of the escooter manufacturer raising $6.2 Mn (INR 50 Cr) in debt from InnoVen Capital last month. Prior to that, in May, Ather Energy raised $128 Mn from India’s sovereign fund National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) Limited and existing investor Hero MotoCorp in its Series E funding round.

Founded in 2013 by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain, Ather is amongst the leading electric vehicle (EV) startups in the country right now, particularly in the two-wheeler space. 

As an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), the startup designs and makes its EVs and EV charging infrastructure. After its Ather 450 and Ather 450X escooter models, Ather Energy launched its next generation of 450 series of scooters, the 450X Gen 3, in July this year.

In fact, Ather Energy is one of the few two-wheeler EV OEMs whose monthly vehicle registrations are on a steady rise. Last month, its EV registrations rose over 16% month-on-month (MoM) to a record 6,266 units. In August, Ather Energy saw a 4X jump in its two-wheeler EV registrations to 5,297 units. Ather Energy’s total vehicle registration between January and September 2022 stands at 29,898 units, as per Vahan data.

The startup competes with the likes of Ola Electric, Pure EV, Okinawa Autotech, Ampere Vehicles, among others. Last month, Ola Electric topped the chart of total electric two-wheeler registrations in India with 9,867 units.

Driven by the increasing demand, Ather Energy reported over a 5X surge in its operating revenue to INR 408.5 Cr in FY22. However, in the same fiscal year, the startup’s losses also surged 47.5% to INR 344.1 Cr.

Meanwhile, the overall EV industry in the country, particularly the two-wheeler segment, is getting strong traction from Indian consumers, which is also largely driven by the government’s incentives for the sector. Government think tank NITI Aayog expects a 100% penetration of electric two-wheelers in India by FY27.

Besides Ather Energy, several other EV OEMs have also raised funds in the past few months. Electriq secured funding from Yamaha Motors’ subsidiary Moto Business Service India this month.

Also, three-wheeler EV OEM Euler Motors raised $60 Mn in its Series C funding round led by Singapore’s sovereign fund GIC.

Inc42 exclusively reported in August that Ultraviolette Automotive was raising $10 Mn (INR 79 Cr) of funding from Ferrari backer Exor. 

The development was first reported by Entrackr.

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