Sachin Bansal rides a bet on electric bike startup Ather Energy

• Sachin Bansal is the lead investor in Ather Energy’s latest round of funding where the startup has raised $51 million.
• Bansal has been an investor in the startup since 2014.
• The startup had made news for being one of India’s first startups to start manufacturing electric vehicles.

Sachin Bansal has made another big investment in the Indian startup ecosystem. This time he has returned as an investor on Bengaluru-based electric bike startup Ather Energy.

As an angel investor, Bansal had earlier invested $0.5 million in the startup way back in 2014.

Ather Energy has raised $51 million in its latest round of funding which was led by Bansal. The electric bike startup had earlier raised funding from Hero MotoCorp and Innoven Capital.

The startup had made news for being one of India’s first startups to start manufacturing electric vehicles. In June 2018, the startup’s first bike Ather 450 hit the market. According to the company’s official statement, Ather is now entering an aggressive expansion phase, with the opening of pre-orders in Chennai in the coming weeks, and eventually scaling to 30 cities by the end of 2023.

The company is also planning to build a new manufacturing facility which will produce one million vehicles a year. Ather Energy will also set up 6500 Ather Grid fast charging points across the country over the next 5 years with a projected investment of ₹130 crores.

“The traditional auto industry is up for a redefinition. 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. Their focus on end to end customer experience will open up new revenue opportunities and accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles in India,” said Sachin Bansal in a statement.

Although Ather Energy’s bikes are at a higher price point, with a starting range of ₹1,13,000, they have managed to gain popularity in Bengaluru.

Sachin Bansal, founder of India’s biggest startup exit Flipkart, made $1 billion by selling his stake in his company’s sale to Walmart. While Bansal has been off the entrepreneurial grid ever since then, he has been making multiple investments. Bansal has invested in Indian ride hailing unicorn Ola and also dairy and grocery startup MilkBasket among others. Reports also said that Bansal was in the process of raising funds for his own $1 billion fund.

See Also:
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