EV Maker Ola Takes Home INR 3,200 in Fundraising Round

A Bangalore-based startup that delves in rapid charging of electric vehicles, Exponent Energy, has pocketed $26.4 million in a Series B round that was led by Eight Roads Ventures. It also entailed a strategic investment from TDK Ventures. Other participants in the round included existing investors such as Lightspeed, YourNest VC, 3one4 Capital, AdvantEdge VC, and the family office of Pawan Munjal. In 2022, Exponent Energy raked up $13 million in its Series A round led by Lightspeed. To date, it has raised $44.4 million. This also included a $6 million pre Series A round in December 2021. Bengaluru-based Exponent will make use of funds raised to expand its presence to five new cities by Financial Year 2024. Additionally, Exponent Energy also wanted to scale its offering in the electric three wheelers space. It has set sights on entering the intercity e-bus sector in 2024. Led by Arun Vinayak and Sanjay Byalal,  Exponent Energy is full stack energy company that builds chargers, batteries and everything in between to unlock 15-minute rapid charging for EVs. The firm aspires deployment of 1,000 charging stations and have 25,000 electric vehicles powered by Exponent by 2025. The firm's average run rate was pegged at more than INR 2 crore a month in revenue in FY24, which it will reach INR 600 crore by 2025. 

Bengaluru’s electric vehicle firm Ola Electric has closed INR 3,200 crore in its fundraising round. The funds were raised from from marquee investors led by Singapore-based Temasek and project debt from State Bank of India respectively.

The funds would be used be employed towards the expansion of Ola’s EV business and the establishment of a lithium-ion cell manufacturing unit in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu.

The firm added that it intends to augment its growth by building its two-wheeler manufacturing capacity, introducing electric motorcycles as well as electric cars. It is also keen to push the construction of its gigafactory.

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“At Ola, our vision is to end ICE (internal combustion engine) age in automobiles and our upcoming gigafactory will be a big leap in India’s journey towards becoming a global EV hub,” stated Ola Electric Founder & CEO Bhavish Aggarwal.

The electric vehicle maker is valued at US$ 5.4 billion and aims to kickstart its gigafactory in the next six months. It will begin with an initial capacity of 5 GWh and later, expand to 100 GWh in  a phase-wise manner. With a view to build an EV hub, the firm has also entered into an MoU with the government of Tamil Nadu. The state has emerged as a hotspot for EV manufacturers. Several manufacturers have set up manufacturing facilities in the state. Firms such as Renault and Nissan have a stronghold in the state.

Going by the series of announcements coming in, India could soon be hosting a number of gigafactories. Industrial and automotive battery maker Amara Raja Batteries Limited (ARBL) is also building the first gigafactory of Telangana.

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