Ather Energy, a manufacturer of electric scooters, has raised Rs 900 crore through a right issue from current investors Hero MotoCorp and GIC. Ather already signed a contract with Hero MotoCorp earlier this week to raise Rs 550 crore.
According to a statement from the company, the funding will enable Ather to grow both its footprint and its product line. 350 crore rupees are being invested in the new round by the Singapore-based sovereign fund.
The Bengaluru-based company raised $128 million in its Series E round in May of last year, making this its second-largest funding round. According to TheKredible, the company’s Series E round valuation was $750 million.
With a new round, the business was prepared to join the unicorn club. Instead of raising money through an equity fundraiser, it opted to use the right issue.
With 6,835 units sold in August, Ather ranked third among manufacturers of electric scooters. TVS, which sold 14,584 units in August, is the second-largest player in the market after Ola Electric, which holds a 29.31% market share.
Additionally, Ather has quadrupled the number of stores it has, from 30 to 130, since last year. There are currently over 200 retail touchpoints in more than 100 cities, according to the company, and there are over 1,500 company-branded fast-charging grids for electric two-wheelers.
According to information obtained through an NSE filing, Ather’s operational revenue increased by 4.4X to Rs 1806.1 crore in FY23 from Rs 413.8 crore while the company’s losses increased by 151.2% to Rs 864.5 crore.
The closest rival of Ather, Ola Electric, raised between $800 and $900 million in equity and debt financing. During the most recent round, it was valued at over $5 billion. Ola Electric reported operating losses of Rs. 784 crores during FY22 despite posting operating revenue of Rs. 373 crores.
Ola Electric has not yet submitted its FY23 audited financial report, but according to a recent Reuters report, the company lost $136 million ($1,100 crore) in FY23 despite having $335 million ($2,700 crore) in revenue.
