Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal invests $32-million in e-scooter maker Ather
New Delhi: Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal who had placed a large bet of close to $100 million in cab-hailing major Ola, has invested $32-million in electric scooter maker Ather Energy.
In the latest fund-raising round, Ather has raised $51 million including Bansal’s $32 million. Two-wheeler giant Hero MotoCorp has converted its convertible debt of $19 million into equity as part of this financing round while venture capital fund InnoVen Capital has infused $8 million debt into the company.
The latest round of fund infusion has valued the Bengaluru-based company at $400 million. Ather Energy, which designs and sells electric two-wheeler vehicles in the Indian market, was founded in 2013 by Swapnil Jain and Tarun Mehta.
Sachin Bansal had backed Ather in the early stage with $0.5 million angel investment in 2014. He has been on the board of the company for last four years.
According to a report in the Times of India, Ather co-founder and CEO Tarun Mehta said that the company will use the new capital for expansion and to strengthen its manufacturing capacity to deliver its e-bikes faster. Mehta added that the company is entering the Chennai market. Ather will also set up 6,500 Ather Grid fast-charging points across the country over the next five years with a projected investment of Rs 130 crore.
In a statement, Ather said it is aiming to be in 30 cities by 2023. At present, it has 31 fast-charging points in Bengaluru and seven in Chennai.
