Grace Ashiru
Ola Electric, a leading manufacturer of electric two-wheelers, has recently achieved a milestone in its electric vehicle (EV) venture. The company has successfully raised an impressive Rs 3,200 crore (about $385 million) in a new funding round to establish India’s premier lithium-ion cell production facility. This round, attracting both equity and debt investments, saw significant contributions from top investors, including Temasek and the State Bank of India (SBI).
The company has laid out a comprehensive strategy for rapid growth. This strategy involves not only expanding the production of its electric two-wheelers but also launching new electric motorcycles and introducing electric cars into the market.
Ola Electric is accelerating the construction of its gigafactory for lithium-ion cells using the newly acquired funds. Initially, the factory will start with a 5 gigawatt-hour capacity, with plans for extensive expansion in future phases. The aim is to eventually scale up to a massive 100-gigawatt-hour capacity when fully operational.
Following a string of successful funding rounds, this latest influx of capital into the electric vehicle startup includes substantial investments from prominent entities like Temasek, Blue Investments, DIG Investments, Tiger Global, Tekne Private Ventures, and Ashutosh Vinayak Joshi. These key investors contributed a total of $300 million to the Bangalore-based firm earlier this month, as per Entrackr’s report.
In total, Ola Electric has now amassed over $1 billion in financing, comprising both equity and debt instruments. Current valuations post-funding, according to TheKredible’s analysis, place the company at around Rs 44,410 crore or $5.4 billion. This figure represents a notable increase from the company’s previous valuation of $5 billion in January of the previous year.
