Oben Electric Raises INR 40 Cr To Ramp Up Production

Bengaluru-based electric vehicle (EV) startup Oben Electric has raised INR 40 Cr ($4.88 Mn) in an extended Pre-Series A round, bringing its total Pre-Series A fundraise to INR 72 Cr (around $8.78 Mn) in a mix of equity and debt.

Stride Ventures, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) and Mumbai Angels participated in the round, along with several high-net-worth individuals (HNIs).

Existing investors, including the Kalvani Family Office, US India EV Angels and We Founder Circle also took part in the round.

The incoming funding will be deployed to increase its production capacity to 100K units per year at its manufacturing facility in Bengaluru and meet working capital requirements for expanding its distribution network.

Founded in 2020 by Madhumita Agrawal, Dinkar Agarwal and Sagar Thakkar, Oben Electric manufactures electric motorcycles, with the Oben Rorr being its flagship product at an ex-showroom price of INR 1.49 Lakhs. Oben claimed that Rorr had a 95% component-level localisation, earning a FAME-II incentive of INR 60,000 per vehicle.

Oben plans to commence deliveries of the e-bike in the first week of July 2023, having received 21,000 pre-orders.

Madhumita Agrawal, also the CEO of Oben Electric, said, “The additional infusion of funds was raised after meticulously planning the delivery dates and to meet the existing and future customer demand of our product Oben Rorr. We are delighted that the infusion of funds will be used to meet our committed delivery timeline, set for the first week of July.”

Oben Electric said the Oben Rorr’s 4.4 kWh battery can fully charge in two hours. The startup further claims to have a network of more than 12,000 charging stations. 

Nandini Mansinghka, CEO of Mumbai Angels, added, “EV has emerged as one of the hottest sectors in the startup ecosystem. With this funding round, Oben moves one step further into becoming one of the brightest trailblazers in the space in India.”

Oben’s funding round comes as India is amid a strong growth phase of EV adoption across the country. EV registrations crossed 1 Lakh per month in May 2023, boosted by the sales uptick of companies such as Ola Electric.

However, with the government cutting FAME-II subsidies last month, the market might face a temporary slowdown, which might reflect in June EV registrations. Even so, the investor interest in the segment remains strong. 

Earlier this month, River, another two-wheeler EV maker, secured $15 Mn. In March, Goa-based electric mobility startup Kabira Mobility raised $50 Mn in its Series A funding round from Qatar’s Al-Abdulla Group.

Meanwhile, Ola Electric remains in talks with major investors to raise up to $300 Mn in a mega funding round as it begins constructing its gigafactory in Tamil Nadu.