Ola Electric, the ride-hailing firm’s electric vehicle (EV) arm, has raised over $200 million from Tekne Private Ventures, Alpine Opportunity Fund, Edelweiss and others. The latest round values the company at $5 billion, an increase from its previous valuation of $3 billion.
In October last year, Ola Electric, raised over $200 million led by Falcon Edge, Softbank and others, tripling its valuation to $3 billion. In July 2019, Ola Electric raised $250 million from Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank. It was just a two-year-old firm at that time. The investment made the fledgling venture a “unicorn”, or a start-up valued at more than $1 billion.
Over the last 12 months, Ola Electric has built the Futurefactory, the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturing facility, Ola S1.
The two-wheelers are being sold to customers using a direct to consumer model with fully digital purchase. Ola also offers home test rides, doorstep delivery and after-sales service.
In India, Ola’s competitors include electric two-wheeler makers such as Ather Energy, Bounce, Hero Electric, Bajaj, TVS Motor Company and Boom Motors. This recent funding is expected to help Ola Electric compete with rivals.
“Ola Electric is creating India’s EV revolution and is driving cutting edge manufacturing from India for the entire world,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Ola. “With Ola S1, we’ve changed the entire scooter industry and are now looking forward to bringing our innovative products to more two-wheeler categories, including bikes as well as cars. I thank the investors for their support and look forward to partnering with them to take the EV revolution from India to the world.”