The manufacturer of electric scooters, Ather Energy, has raised $34.5 million, or Rs 286 crore, through loan and equity. The Bengaluru-based startup is raising capital for the first time this year with this round.
According to the company’s regulatory records obtained from the Registrar of Companies, co-founders Tarun Sanjay Mehta and Swapnil Babanlal Jain contributed Rs 43.28 crore each in Series F preferred shares, while Stride Ventures invested Rs 200 crore in debentures.
Through a right issue in December of last year, Ather Energy was able to raise its second-largest investment round of Rs 900 crore ($108 million) from Hero MotoCorp and GIC, two of its current investors. Hero MotoCorp also paid Rs 140 crore (about $16.8 million) for a 3% share in Ather in the same month.
Ather is reportedly in talks to raise $95 million in a pre-IPO transaction, according to a recent media story. Another source stated that Nikhil Kamath, the co-founder of Zerodha, has acquired a substantial percentage of Ather’s current investor Sachin Bansal’s ownership in the business.
According to TheKredible, Ather’s valuation during the May 2022 Series E round was $750 million. Since then, though, it has not revealed its valuation. In the next round, it’s probably going to become a unicorn.
Thus far, Ather has raised around $450 million. The largest external stakeholder, according to the startup data analytics platform TheKredible, is Hero MotoCorp, followed by Tiger Global, Caladium Investment, and Sachin Bansal.
Ather experienced a 2.5X increase in losses to Rs 864.5 crore in FY23, despite a 4.36X increase in operating revenue to Rs 1,784 crore. The company has not yet submitted its FY24 financial figures.
Overall sales of electric two-wheelers decreased by 50% in April over March. April sales for Ather Energy were 4,000 units, up from 17,000 in March. More than 33,000 units were sold by Ola Electric, making up around 50% of total sales over the previous month.
