Ola Electric raises $200 million in financing round, valued at $3 bn

Indian electric vehicle manufacturer Ola Electric has said that it has raised over $200 million in a new financing round, which has increased its valuation from an earlier $1 billion to $3 billion.

The financing round was led by Bengaluru-based Falcon Edge and SoftBank among others.

“I thank our existing investors and welcome new ones to Ola. Together we will bring mobility to a billion and sustainability to the future,” Ola founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal was quoted as saying.

Ola Electric, a sister concern of ride-hailing start-up Ola, has said that the funding round would be helpful in developing its electric motorbike, mass market scooter and electric car.

Also read: Ola, Ather… why everyone wants to ride an electric scooter in India

“We are proud to lead the EV revolution from India to the world. India has the talent and the capability to build technologies of the future for the industries of the future for the entire world,” Aggarwal said.

The company, which is planning to extend its base in South Asia, believes the funding would also give wings to Ola’s ‘Mission Electric’ and encourage buyers to completely switch to electric two-wheelers after 2025.

Ola recently sold its first electric scooter range of S1 and S1 Pro models and raked in ₹1,100 crore in two days. Ola S1 costs ₹99,999 ($1,350), a scooter which offers a mileage of 121 km when fully charged.

The company is also setting up a 500-acre factory in Tamil Nadu, which will have a capacity to produce one electric scooter every two seconds.

Also read: Ola sells electric-scooters worth ₹1,100 crore in just 2 days

Ola is also said to be in the process of filing paperwork to initiate initial public offering this year. While Ola’s key investors like SoftBank, Tiger Global Management and Tencent would raise half the capital for the proposed listing through a primary issuance, the rest reportedly will be raised through an offer for sale from some old investors, reported Economic Times.

The company had earlier raised funding from investors including Tiger Global and Matrix India.