Ather Energy raises $128 Mn led by NIIF's SOF and Hero MotoCorp

Electric scooter manufacturer Ather Energy has raised $128 million in its Series E round led by the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund’s (NIIF) Strategic Opportunities Fund (SOF) and Hero MotoCorp.

The Bengaluru-based company scooped up $35 million in a Series D round led by Sachin Bansal in November 2020. Entrackr was the first to report the development.

Ather Energy will use the proceeds to expand manufacturing facilities, invest in research and development, charging infrastructure, and grow its retail network, according to the company’s press release.

Before this round, Hero MotoCorp used to hold around 34.8% stake in Ather Energy. The company, however, did not disclose further details of the transaction including valuation and shareholding.

According to Tarun Mehta, CEO of Ather Energy, the company is expected to increase its capacity from 10,000 a month to 35,000 a month by this year and aims to hit 1 million capacity by the next year. He further added that the company is already generating revenues of over Rs 100 crore a month and hopes to double the number in FY23.

At present, the company has 38 experience centres (across 32 cities) and it aims to expand to 150 experience centres in 100 cities by 2023.

In FY21, Ather Energy saw its revenues grow by 126% to Rs 79.8 crore from Rs 35.3 crore in FY20, as per the company’s regulatory filings with MCA. The majority of this revenue was generated via the sale of EV scooters. The company had also improved its unit economics and its annual losses barely increased 6% to Rs 233.3 crore in the fiscal year ending March 2021.

On the lines of many late-stage companies, Ather Energy also has plans to go public. While the company did not disclose the timeline of its listing on the bourses, media reports have speculated on the end of 2023.

Earlier this month, Ather Energy had revealed that it sold 3,779 units of the Ather 450X and 450 Plus in April 2022, recording year-on-year growth of more than 255%.

Ather Energy's journey has been in stark contrast to Ola Electric, marked by a slow and steady milestone driven approach unlike the frenetic pace of the Bhavish Aggarwal-led company. That gives onlookers a great ringside view of how the story evolves over the next two years. Don't miss catching the numbers that will matter on Entrackr.