Sachin Bansal Invests $32 Million In Ather Energy At $400 Million Valuation

Ather Energy Pvt. Ltd. has raised $51 million in a fresh funding round led by Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal as the electric scooter maker plans to scale up its operations.

Bansal, who is also an angel investor in the startup, will pump $32 million in the electric scooter maker. This will be his second largest investment in a mobility startup after he invested Rs 650 crore in Ola earlier this year.

The latest investment pegs Ather Energy’s valuation at $400 million, one person privy to the development told BloombergQuint requesting anonymity.

Besides, Hero MotoCorp Ltd. has converted its convertible debt of $19 million into equity, taking the overall round to $51 million, Ather Energy said in a statement on Tuesday. InnoVen Capital has also extended an $8 million venture debt, the statement said.

The startup, which launched its electric scooter Ather 450 in Bengaluru last year, is planning to expand its operations with the fresh funding. The company aims to scale to 30 cities by the end of 2023 and is also planning a new manufacturing facility to produce one million vehicles a year.

The electric scooter maker said it 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. The company currently has 31 fast charging points in Bengaluru and seven fast charging points in Chennai.

“Watching Ather closely since my early investment in 2014, I am convinced that the ecosystem that Ather is building with their products is the future of urban mobility,” Bansal said in a statement. “The traditional auto industry is up for a redefinition.”

Founded in 2013 by IIT Madras alumni, Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain, Ather Energy has so far raised $95 million and counts private equity firm Tiger Global Management and Hero MotoCorp among its investors.