Ather Energy has designed an electric scooter that enables on-board navigation, pre-emptive diagnostics, remote configuration and personalised ride profiles through a touchscreen dashboard and mobile app
Ather’s S340 scooter
Ather Energy, an electric scooter company in Bangalore, has secured US$27 million in Series B funding from Hero MotoCorp, one of the largest motor cycle manufacturers in India, in return for a 26 to 30 per cent stake.
Hero’s Board of Directors has also approved to infuse over US$3 million more into Ather.
This new round of capital will be used to build a future-ready product platform and to accelerate the infrastructure and ecosystem development around electric vehicles in the country.
Also Read: Why light electric vehicles will outpace cars before you know it
Ather previously raised two rounds of funding from the likes of Tiger Global, and Flipkart Co-founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal.
Speaking on the investment, Tarun Mehta, CEO and Co-founder of Ather Energy, said, “We believe smart connected electric vehicles are the future, and India will be an important global player in it. Our vision is to fast forward to that future and this investment will help us leapfrog several years of automotive experience.”
Ather Energy was founded in 2013 by IIT Madras graduates Mehta and Swapnil Jain. An automobile design and manufacturing company, Ather is working on its model, the S340 which has a Lithium-Ion battery pack, top speed of 72 Kph and a range of 60 Km.
According to the company, the S340 has a few vehicle intelligence features that enable on-board navigation, pre-emptive diagnostics, remote configuration and personalised ride profiles through a touchscreen dashboard and mobile app.
The firm has a team of about 150 employees.
“Adoption of environment-friendly fuel is a priority for Hero, as is propagating sustainable manufacturing through green facilities. One of our strategic priorities, therefore, is to engage with the external ecosystem, including startups in adjacent areas,” Pawan Munjal, Chairman, Managing Director and CEO, Hero MotoCorp, said, regarding the investment.
“Hero MotoCorp intends to enhance its participation in the EV space by pursuing its internal EV program in addition to partnering with Ather. Ather is the best startup in the two-wheeler EV space and we firmly believe that they are on the way to become one of the leaders in India, potentially even globally. They bring together a vision with high aspiration, ability to progress rapidly and the humility to learn and improve continually,” he added.
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