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Bangalore-based startup Ather Energy, currently designing a smart electric two-wheeler, has raised around $12 Mn (INR 75.33 Cr.) in a funding led by Tiger Global. Ather Energy is planning to use the new round of funding for development, testing, production and the launch of its first smart electric two-wheeler, the Ather S340.
Tarun Mehta, CEO and co-founder of Ather Energy said “We want to offer the Indian consumer a completely new driving experience by developing a product that would be at par with any petrol or electric two-wheelers available in the market today. This investment will help us continue to evolve our product and scale it towards launch.”
In an interaction with Inc42, Tarun told us that the new vehicle Ather-S340 is a connected vehicle powered by lithium-ion battery pack, featuring a digital touchscreen dashboard and light-weight aluminium chassis. It can offer a top speed of 75 kmph.
The company will start offering test drives on the prototypes in Chennai and Bangalore around October of this year as it is already seeing an increasing number of sign-ups for the same on their website. However, the AtherS340 is planned for launch in Bangalore, Chennai and Delhi by early 2016.
Founded in 2013, by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain, Ather Energy is a startup which is focused on designing and selling premium electric two wheeler for the Indian market as the company aims to change the perspective about electric vehicles by building high performance, zero maintenance and smart electric vehicles.
On the growth of the company, Lee Fixel from Tiger Global said, “We are impressed with Ather’s vision of building smart electric vehicles that has a potential to revolutionise the driving experience. We see great potential in Ather’s product offering and the technology and are confident that their maiden launch will attract tremendous positive response.”
Earlier in 2014, Ather had received its first seed fund of $1 Mn from Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, founders of Flipkart, and Raju Venkatraman of Medall Healthcare, which provided the initial impetus for Ather’s growth plans.
It is said to be the first electric scooter which has been completely designed and manufactured out of India.
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