Ola Electric raises $200 Mn led by Falcon and SoftBank at $3 Bn valuation

Ola Electric has raised $200 million led by Falcon Edge, SoftBank and others at a valuation of $3 billion to accelerate the development of its other vehicle platforms including electric motorbike, mass-market scooter and its electric car. 

The fundraise comes after Ola Electric sold electric scooters worth over $150 million in a two-day purchase window last month. 

Ola Electric had raised $100 million in long term debt from Bank of Baroda in August, in what was one of the largest long-term debt financing agreements in the Indian EV industry. The company had also incorporated a new entity to receive funds. Entrackr was the first to report about its new entity – Ola Electric Technologies Private Limited.

The Bhavish Agarwal-led company is also backed by legacy automakers who see potential in India’s still somewhat nascent EV space. In late 2019, Korean carmakers Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corp had invested around $300 million in Ola and Ola Electric.

Ola Electric was the first startup to turn into a unicorn in the electric vehicle space. The company made an entry into the manufacture of two-wheelers with the acquisition of Amsterdam-based electric scooter manufacturer Etergo in May 2020.

Last year, Ola and Ola Electric had faced around half a dozen back to back exits of top-level employees. The list includes Sanjay Bhan, Ola Electric’s chief business officer, Arun Srinivas, COO and global chief marketing officer of Ola, Naroo Krishnan, head of products at Ola Mobility, Sanjiv Saddy, senior VP at Ola and Sanjay Kharb, vice president for engineering at Ola.

Two-wheeler EVs have stolen a march over other EVs in India, thanks mainly to the fact that despite a limited charging network, these vehicles can still be charged at many normal power points, including at home. 

The next phase of the two-wheeler EV growth in the country promises sales to grow to over 6 million per annum by 2025 or a 30% share of new two-wheelers sold. For the record, the industry had hit its all-time high in sales in 2019, at 21 million units. 

Hero Electric is currently India’s leading EV maker with a 36% market share. Apart from that, Ola also has competition from Hero Electric-backed Ather Energy, TVS and Bajaj among others.