Ather Energy Secures $34.5 Million in Series F Round

Ather Energy, a prominent electric scooter manufacturer based in Bengaluru, has secured fresh funding of Rs 286 crore ($34.5 million) through a combination of debt and equity. This marks the company’s first investment round in 2024.

Investment Breakdown

The funding details reveal that Stride Ventures contributed Rs 200 crore through debentures, a form of debt financing. Additionally, Ather’s co-founders, Tarun Sanjay Mehta and Swapnil Babanlal Jain, each invested Rs 43.28 crore via Series F preference shares, signifying an equity investment. This information was obtained from the company’s regulatory filings with the Registrar of Companies.

Previous Funding and Potential Future Rounds

In December 2023, Ather secured its largest funding round to date, raising Rs 900 crore ($108 million) from existing investors Hero MotoCorp and GIC via a rights issue. This investment was further bolstered by Hero MotoCorp acquiring an additional 3% stake in Ather for Rs 140 crore during the same month. Recent media reports suggest that Ather is in discussions to raise $95 million in a pre-IPO round, potentially setting the stage for an initial public offering (IPO). Additionally, another report indicates that Ather’s existing investor Sachin Bansal has partially sold his stake in the company to Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha.

Valuation and Investor Landscape

Based on data from TheKredible, Ather’s valuation stood at $750 million during its Series E funding round in May 2022. While the company’s current valuation remains undisclosed, the upcoming funding round is likely to propel it towards achieving unicorn status (a valuation exceeding $1 billion). To date, Ather has garnered a total of $450 million in funding. As per TheKredible, Hero MotoCorp holds the largest external stakeholder position, followed by Sachin Bansal (prior to his partial stake sale), Caladium Investment, and Tiger Global.

Financial Performance and Market Landscape

Ather witnessed a significant increase in revenue during FY23, with its operational income surging by 4.36 times to Rs 1,784 crore. However, the company also experienced a substantial rise in losses, which spiked by 2.5 times to Rs 864.5 crore in the same period. Ather’s financial results for FY24 are yet to be reported.

The electric two-wheeler market encountered a challenging period in April 2024, with overall sales witnessing a 50% decline compared to March. Ather’s sales figures mirrored this trend, with unit sales dropping from 17,000 in March to 4,000 in April. Notably, competitor Ola Electric managed to sell over 33,000 units in April, contributing roughly half of the total market sales for that month.