Ola electric revealed on Monday that it has raised $200 million in its latest funding round as the international ridesharing giant struggles to deliver its one-of-the-kind electric scooter to its loyal customer base in India.
Tekne Private Ventures, Alpine Opportunity Fund, Edelweiss are among the many who funded the latest round, leaving Ola Electric valued at $5 billion, up from $3 billion in September last year.
Ola Electric co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal thanked the investors for their support as the company looks to revolutionize India’s EV industry. Following the launch of Ola S1, which according to Bhavish has disrupted the entire scooter industry, Bhavish revealed that the startup is looking to expand into more categories including cars. The Ola S1 is priced at about $1,350 whilst offering a range of 121 kilometers (75 miles) on a single charge.
Excluding the $100 million Ola received from the Bank of Baroda since its inception, this round makes it Ola’s seventh fundraising round as the company now counts Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd, Tiger Global, Matrix Partners India and Ratan Tata amongst its many lenders. The company raised about $52.7 million (Rs 398.26 crore) last year in a funding round led by Temasek.
Established in 2017 to run e-taxis, Ola Electric expanded into manufacturing EVs as the Covid-19 pandemic maimed the company’s cab-hailing business.
Meanwhile, Bounce, a fellow Bengaluru-based startup, unveiled its own electric scooter as analysts expect it to give Ola a run for its money.
