Ather Energy, the Bengaluru-based electric scooter manufacturer, has successfully raised Rs 286 crore (approximately $34.5 million) through a combination of debt and equity, marking its first investment round of the year.
Stride Ventures led the investment with a Rs 200 crore infusion through debentures, while co-founders Tarun Sanjay Mehta and Swapnil Babanlal Jain injected Rs 43.28 crore each via Series F preference shares, according to regulatory filings accessed from the Registrar of Companies.
This funding round follows Ather Energy’s significant financing of Rs 900 crore ($108 million) from existing investors Hero MotoCorp and GIC through a right issue in December last year. Additionally, Hero MotoCorp acquired an additional 3% stake in Ather for Rs 140 crore (approximately $16.8 million) during the same period.
Media reports have indicated that Ather is currently in discussions to raise $95 million in a pre-IPO round. Furthermore, it was noted that existing investor Sachin Bansal has divested a significant portion of his stake in the company to Zerodha’s co-founder Nikhil Kamath.
According to data from TheKredible, Ather was valued at $750 million during its Series E round in May 2022. However, the company has not disclosed its valuation since then, but it is anticipated to attain unicorn status in the forthcoming round.
Having amassed approximately $450 million in funding to date, Ather’s major external stakeholders include Hero MotoCorp, Sachin Bansal, Caladium Investment, and Tiger Global.
In terms of financial performance, Ather reported a substantial 4.36X increase in revenue from operations to Rs 1,784 crore in FY23, while its losses surged 2.5X to Rs 864.5 crore during the same period. Financial results for FY24 are yet to be disclosed by the company.
In April, the electric two-wheeler industry witnessed a 50% decline in overall sales compared to March. Ather Energy, which sold 17,000 units in March, reported 4,000 units sold in April. On the other hand, Ola Electric contributed approximately 50% to the overall sales in April with over 33,000 units sold.
Source: Entrackr
