Ather Energy Turns Unicorn After USD71 Million Funding From NIIF In September last year, Hero MotoCorp, its existing shareholder has announced its board's approval to invest INR 550 crore into Ather Energy.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ather Energy has secured USD 71 million in a new funding round led by its existing investor, the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), which takes the valuation to USD 1.3 billion, making it a unicorn start-up, sources said.
The company has been raising multiple rounds of funding since the end of 2023. In May this year, Ather raised INR 286 crore through a mix of debt and equity, largely through venture debt and co-founders.
Venture debt firm Stride Ventures has invested close to INR 200 crore via debentures, while Ather's co-founders Tarun Sanjay Mehta and Swapnil Jain pumped in INR 43.28 crore each via Series F preference shares.
In September last year, Hero MotoCorp, its existing shareholder has announced its board's approval to invest INR 550 crore into Ather Energy.
In October of 2022, Ather Energy raised USD 50 million in equity funding led by its existing investor Caladium Investment Pte Ltd with participation from Navam Capital-backed Herald Square Ventures.
This milestone comes at a time when Ather is aiming to tap the public market by 2025, and has picked HSBC Holdings Plc, Nomura Holdings Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to help arrange the Initial Public Offering.
Ather Energy recorded consolidated revenue of INR 1,753 crore in the financial year 2024, which was 1.7 per cent lower year-on-year (YoY).
The two-wheeler player has joined the list of start-ups that have achieved unicorn status in the past eight months. In May 2024, Porter entered the unicorn club following an internal funding round. Additionally, AI start-up Krutrim and B2B SaaS company Perfios have also reached unicorn status within this period.
