Ather Energy, an electric two-wheeler company with considerable backing from investors, made its public market entry on Indian stock exchanges this week with an underwhelming response. The company’s IPO, available from April 28 to April 30, had set an offer amount of INR 2,981 crore, of which it had collected INR 1,340 crore from anchor investors just ahead of its opening. Despite some apparent early enthusiasm from investors, the company’s shares opened and then closed below their debut price.
The company’s early financial backers tell a different tale through the numbers, even with the muted listing. Ather’s promoters and major shareholders, together with their combined stake, saw the value of their investments more than double, to INR 7,055.65 crore, as calculated from the red herring prospectus. They held INR 7,055.65 crore of Ather’s total value at the time of its initial public offering, more than double what they had invested early on.
Flipkart Founders’ Early Investment Pays Off
The major beneficiaries here are Flipkart co-founders Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal, who, in 2014, invested 3.1 crore each in Ather. While Sachin exited by selling his stake to Hero MotoCorp and the Kamath brothers of Zerodha, missing out on potential gains of up to 20%, Binny is still in. His original stake has grown to 92 crore, which is a bit hard to grasp even for us. But, it is the kind of unvarnished truth that highlights patience as a virtue in the high-growth electric vehicle sector.
Ather’s list of shareholders showcases some very prominent names like Tiger Global, NIIF, GIC, Hero MotoCorp, and IIT Madras. They together hold close to 62% of the company. And it’s a who’s who in the institutional investment circle with our backers. Hero MotoCorp, which owns 30.9% of Ather, chose not to offload any shares during the IPO, maintaining a significant foothold in the business.
Strategic Share Sales and Employee Windfall
Although the IPO yielded few exits, some significant deals occurred. Promoters and important shareholders sold 1.1 lakh shares through an offer for sale (OFS), generating INR 354.76 crore. Investor Amit Bhatia completely exited, selling his shares for INR 59.48 lakh. Tiger Global, NIIF, and GIC’s current stakes stand at INR 585.66 crore, INR 537.76 crore, and INR 1,225.45 crore respectively, reflecting a healthy uptick in value.
The success at Ather has also benefited its employees. Over 1,300 staff members participate in the company’s ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) program, which is set to expire in 2024. Under this program, the 1,65,00,000 shares owned by Ather’s staff have seen their value skyrocket to around INR 500 crore.
Ather Energy made its stock market debut on May 6, 2025, with its shares listed on both the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The electric two-wheeler manufacturer’s IPO had closed with lukewarm interest, and market analysts had already predicted a cautious start. As expected, Ather’s shares opened with a modest gain, reflecting a subdued grey market premium (GMP) and limited enthusiasm from non-institutional investors.
With a share price of INR 321, the IPO had a grey market premium of just INR 14 on the eve of listing, which translates to a possible 4.36% gain. But while investors were betting on the big up move, their extreme enthusiasm was being weighed down by nagging concerns over the EV sector’s profitability.
Subscription Data Paints a Mixed Picture
The IPO, which took place from April 28 to April 30, was not in great demand, showing a mere 1.43 times overall subscription by the time the offering was completed on May 2. Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) expressed some interest in the company, but only at the very end of the offering window. Call it a timid thumbs up from those who generally lead the charge. But at least it made for a slightly more palatable offering than it would have been otherwise.
Observers in the market have taken to believing that Ather’s pricing strategy is rather aggressive. This belief is particularly strong when one makes comparisons to fellows in the sector such as Ola Electric. The latter’s own post-IPO performance has left something to be desired, to put it mildly. Ather, of course, is a brand that many people respect, especially in the space of electric vehicles. Analysts have taken to saying that the lack of enthusiasm for the Ather IPO suggests that the investing public wants to see clearer paths to profitability before it showers electric vehicle manufacturers with the kind of sky-high valuations that our parents used to call rich.
Short-Term Outlook: Volatility and Risk
Experts are cautious about how Ather Energy’s stock will perform in the near term. They see the electric two-wheeler market as still working through scaling issues and margin pressures and expect the sector to enjoy substantial volatility. In this context, they see Ather’s stock as likely to be flat to just nudging up or down within a fairly narrow range unless we get some exciting news from Ather on that operational front or on how ramped-up production is going.
Those who can handle risk may wish to retain their current investments and wait for the long-term to see if the situation improves. However, investors who prefer a more conservative route are better off biding their time and watching how this situation plays out.
The IPO worth INR 2,981.06 crore consisted of a fresh public offering of shares for INR 2,626.30 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of about INR 354.76 crore by some existing shareholders. Now, the company faces the challenge of not just meeting investor expectations but also making a go of it in the ever more competitive and rapidly changing EV space in India.
Ather Energy’s highly awaited initial public offering opened with a comparatively tepid response, achieving just over 12% overall subscription on day one. Retail investors were the main driver behind that early subscription lift, with their category achieving 46% subscription by the end of the first day. Meanwhile, non-institutional investors managed to reach an overall subscription level of 14%. The offering itself has an overall target size of nearly INR 3,000 crore and is open for bidding until April 30. Shares are being offered at a price between INR 304 and INR 321. Even with this lackluster lead-in, most observers say that this kind of early first-day subscription performance is not unusual for offers that are debuting in this kind of cautious market environment.
The initial public offering (IPO), comprising a fresh issue of INR 2,626 crore and an offer-for-sale worth INR 355 crore, is the first big mainboard listing of FY26. It will test the waters of investor sentiment for the emerging Indian electric vehicle sector when it lists on May 6.
Valuation Reflects Adjusted Expectations
Ather’s valuation at the high end of its price band comes to around USD 1.4 billion, nearly 44% lower than the earlier figure they were shooting for. The company seems to be taking a more realistic approach these days, thanks to all the craziness in the global and domestic equity markets. In any case, analysts looking at the offering found Ather’s valuation to be reasonable, in light of its growth rate and an EV/sales multiple of 8x, based on a nine-month FY25 revenue estimate of INR 1,579 crore.
Experts in finance from Arihant Capital have recommended adopting a ‘subscribe for listing gains’ stance, which shows their level of confidence in Ather’s strategic positioning and future earnings potential. Trading in the grey market shows a barely-there premium, under 1%. Yet that has not significantly reduced the level of confidence that institutions have in Ather.
Solid Anchor Support Bolsters Confidence
Before the opening of the IPO, Ather Energy received INR 1,340 crore from a list of prominent anchor investors. Included in this list are several heavyweights, such as SBI Mutual Fund, Franklin Templeton, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Seen as a vital confidence booster for retail and institutional investors considering a longer-term investment in the electric mobility sector, this anchor book is one that several individuals in the investment community are keeping an eye on.
The company plans to use the new capital to drive its next stage of growth. It aims to do things like establish a manufacturing plant in Maharashtra and pay back loans it has taken. It also intends to do quite a lot of work in research and development in marketing and other corporate endeavors.
Early Backers Set to Reap Rewards
Ather’s IPO is also set to bring notable gains for its early investors. IIT Madras, through its incubation arms, holds about 15.58 lakh shares in the company and is expected to realize around INR 50 crore from the sale. This windfall reflects the long-term vision of Ather’s early supporters and the successful maturation of one of India’s prominent electric two-wheeler brands.
Ather Energy is in a prime position to take advantage of the rapidly changing electric vehicle market in India. It has benefited from an early-mover advantage. Its recent introduction of a premium product, the Ather Rizta, promises to grow its already substantial product suite. Ather’s seemingly unquenchable thirst for in-house research and development has additionally equipped it very well for future success.
Ather Energy, a manufacturer of electric vehicles, has established a price range of IR 304–321 per share for its April 28 IPO. The issue will close on April 30 after anchor bidding begins on April 25. According to its prospectus, the Tiger Global-backed company has scaled back its initial public offering.
Instead of raising INR 3,100 crore as planned, it intends to raise INR 2,626 crore through the issuance of additional shares. Along with the new issuance, the IPO also included an Offer for Sale (OFS) of 1.1 crore equity shares, in which institutional investors and the promoter group will participate.
Along with other corporate owners, promoters Tarun Sanjay and Swapnil Babanla would sell a portion of their holdings under the OFS.
How Company Plans to Utilise Proceeds?
According to a media report, Ather Energy has lowered its initial projection of INR 14,000 crore to aim for a post-money valuation of INR 12,800 crore. In addition to funding its new facility in the western state of Maharashtra, the business intends to use the earnings from the initial public offering (IPO) for marketing, debt repayment, R&D, and other corporate needs.
Hero MotoCorp holds a 40% stake in Ather, making it the largest stakeholder. Apart from that, Tiger Global owns 6.56%, while the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) owns 14.22%. Mehta and Jain, co-founders of Ather, each own 6.81% of the company.
Hero remained steadfast in its decision to not sell its stock in the IPO. Electric scooters, battery packs, charging infrastructure, and related software systems are all designed, developed, and assembled in-house by Ather Energy, an electric two-wheeler (E2W) company.
Two product lines, the Ather 450 and the Ather Rizta, each with seven variations, make up its electric two-wheeler range.
More Details of the IPO
Investors must deposit a minimum of INR 13,984 to be eligible for at least one lot, which consists of 46 shares. The RHP further stated that 10% of the offer is for ordinary investors, 15% is for non-institutional investors (NIIs), and 75% is for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) due to book-building concerns.
Tiger Global will sell 400,000 equity shares as part of the offer for sale. The shares were purchased at an average price of INR 38.58 each, which represents an 8.3-fold return on investment. Comparably, National Investment and Infrastructure Fund II is expected to generate a 74% return on its investment through the OFS, while Caladium Investment is expected to generate a 57% return.
The Ather Energy IPO’s book running lead managers are Axis Capital, HSBC Securities & Capital Markets, JM Financial, and Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India), while the registrar is Link Intime India.
While the firm will be listed on the BSE and NSE with a tentative listing date set for May 6, the allocation for the Ather Energy IPO is anticipated to be finalised on May 2. After Ola Electric’s 2024 IPO, Ather Energy will be the second pure-play Indian EV maker to go public.
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Fueling with electricity offers a whole lot of advantages that are clearly not available with the conventional internal combustion engine vehicles that we have been using to date. Electric motors react quicker than the latter. They are very responsive and have impressive torque.
Besides, what’s more important is that the EVs follow the path of sustainable development because they are not driven by traditional fossil fuels like petrol, diesel, or LPG. Electric vehicles thus significantly contribute towards reducing the emissions that lead to climate change and smog, thereby putting a stop to many other forms of ecological damage and man-made environmental disasters too.
Choosing electric vehicles for transport has been proven to improve public health and the environment. These are a few of the many reasons why electric vehicles are here to stay.
Among the most popular electric vehicle manufacturing companies is Ather. Ather is an Indian electric vehicle company founded by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain in 2013 andgoes by the name Ather Energy Pvt. Ltd. It currently manufactures the electric scooters, the Ather 450X and the Ather 450 Plus, where it launched the all-new Ather 450X 2022 on July 19, 2022. Furthermore, it has also established the electric vehicle charging infrastructure, Ather Grid, and is one of the most prominent rivals of Ola Electric.
Ather Energy has become a unicorn (a company valued at over $1 billion) just before its upcoming IPO. The company raised $71 million from the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), which is backed by the government, giving it a total value of $1.3 billion.
Here’s the company profile of Ather Energy: Know all about its owners, story, funding and investors, history, shareholding, business model, revenue model, growth, challenges faced, name, tagline, logo, and more.
Ather Energy is a startup focused on designing and selling premium electric two-wheelers for the Indian market. Ather wants to change the perspective on electric vehicles by building high-performance, zero-maintenance, and smart electric vehicles.
The company has manufactured two scooter models at present:: the 450 Plus and the the 450X. The 450X was upgraded, which helped Ather Energy launch the the 450X 2022 model on July 19, 2022. It has also established an electric vehicle charging network called AtherGrid.
It owns and operates its experience centers (called AtherSpace) to give the customers a complete ownership experience. The company launched the Ather 450 back in September 2018 and released the Ather 450X all across the country on January 28, 2020. The new version of 450X, 450X 3, was launched on July 19, 2022.
Though the sale of new Ather 450 scooters has been discontinued by the company since November 28, 2020, the company has pledged to fill up the gap with their 450X and 450 Plus models, where the latter will be launched soon.
Ather 450x is currently being delivered in 11+ Indian cities so far: Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Kochi, Kozhikode, Kolkata, Coimbatore, and Ahmedabad.
Ather Energy’s customers believe that electric vehicles will shape urban commutes in the years to come. They choose to own the experience of a vehicle that is built from scratch, offers an unparalleled ride, and is powered by intelligence.
Ather Energy – Founders and Team
The founders of Ather Energy are Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain. They founded Ather Energy in 2013.
Ather Energy Founders
Tarun Mehta
Tarun is the co-founder and CEO of Ather. Mehta is an IIT Madras alumnus who has completed a dual degree in engineering design before starting as a deputy manager at Ashok Leyland. He eventually decided to find Ather. Mehta interned at Mercedes Benz and BHEL during his college days.
Swapnil Jain
Swapnil Jail is the co-founder of Ather. He is also an alumnus of IIT Madras and has completed his integrated Master of Technology in Engineering Design. After completing a brief internship at General Motors and BHEL, Swapnil decided to find Ather with his college friend Tarun.
Ather currently operates with an employee strength of 1,001–5,000.
Ather Energy – Startup Story
Ather began its journey in October 2013 at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras Research Park. Mehta and co-founder Swapnil Jain, both IIT-M alumni (BTech and MTech batch of 2012 in engineering design), had set out to build India’s first smart electric scooter. They had brief stints at Ashok Leyland and General Motors, respectively.
Mehta recalls the support of R. Krishnakumar, a professor at the Department of Engineering Design at IIT-Madras. “If a professor says, ‘Leave your job and come back; we will take care of everything,’ I think that is a great morale boost,” says the Ather CEO.
“For the first five-six months, we literally camped out of the department. We were just hanging around in his labs and other department labs before we sort of reached a conclusion that ‘This seems interesting and we should actually start a company and build a product.’ It was a very important phase and he was super supportive then.”
In December 2014, Flipkart founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal invested $1 million as seed capital. Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal expressed positive sentiments towards the company and showed an inclination towards energy-efficient vehicles.
In December 2019, Ather Energy signed an MoU with the Government of Tamil Nadu to set up a 400,000-square-foot manufacturing plant for electrical vehicles in Hosur. The invested amount will be around ₹635 crore.
The company added two new products to its portfolio, the Ather 450X and the Ather 450 Plus, in January 2020. The Ather 450X is a premium electric scooter built from the ground up by Ather. A step above the Ather 450 in both features and performance, the Ather 450X has been meticulously designed to redefine the two-wheeler riding experience in India.
Ather Journey
Ather Energy – Name, Logo, and Tagline
Ather Energy Logo
The logo of Ather Energy represents that every electrical circuit is different, but the two things that remain constant are the start, represented by the line, and the stop, represented by the dot, in the circuit. This was much like Ather’s long-term goal of building a company that fundamentally believes in using runnable electric energy as the future of innovation.
Ather’s tagline: “All Brain. All Power. All Electric.”
Ather Energy – Mission
Ather’s mission statement says, “At Ather, we want to build the future of mobility—one that is connected and electric. We truly believe electricity is inevitable; there’s never been a better time. Intelligent vehicles are revolutionizing our commute experience, and the Ather 450 and 450X are on the cusp of this exciting reality. We are also in the midst of exploring the energy chain, including storage and distribution domains.”
The company has announced an online-only purchase model for selling the product with doorstep service. It had set up its manufacturing unit in Whitefield, Bangalore, which commenced production in 2018 with a capacity of 600 vehicles per week. The company has disclosed the price of the Ather 450 to be Rs 1,35,000, and the price of the Ather 450X is Rs 1,38,006.
It also establishes Ather Grid, an electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the cities where it is present. The company has set up over 38 fast charging points in Bengaluru and 14 charging points in Chennai as of July 2020.
Ather Grid
Ather will be setting up its new 400,000-square-foot facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, by the end of 2022. The new facility will be designed to produce 100,000 units annually and is scalable to half a million units.
Ather Energy has been announced as the fourth largest-selling two-wheeler EV in India in the first half of 2021, where the company has successfully sold approximately 63,184 units. Though the valuation of Ather is yet to touch $1 billion, the company is really, witnessing good growth. It is currently operating with 38 experience centers across 32 cities in India. The company further hopes to take the number of experience centers to 150 across 100 Indian cities by 2023.
Ather has claimed that it has witnessed a whopping 800% growth in sales in 2021. The demand for Ather scooters is growing, and Ather is standing fit to deliver them now, revealed Swapnil Jain, co-founder and CTO of Ather. However, it’s true that though Ather has witnessed a surge in demand, it has failed to match the sales figures of its chief rival, Ola Electric.
Ather Energy Launched the 2022 450X 3 Electric Scooter
Ather 2022 450X Gen 3
Ather launched the 2022 450X Gen 3 scooter on July 19, 2022. Here are some of the advantages of the Ather 2022 450X 3 scooters at a glance:
These scooters will be equipped with bigger 3.7 kWh units instead of the earlier 2.6 kWh units
The batteries will be 25% larger than those of the previous generation scooters
These scooters boast an ARAI-certified range of 146 km and a TrueRangeTM of 105 km.
They will also have wider rear tires
The grips of the new generation Ather 450X will be 22% better than the previous generation scooter models.
They will offer the all-new tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
They are also built with a 7-inch built-in display and 2GB integrated RAM
They will be fitted with the newly designed rearview mirrors, offering 2X better visibility and 5X reliability
They will further have a new side-step made of single-cast aluminum
Ather Energy Launches 450S and 450X Electric Scooter
Ather unveiled the 450S on August 11, 2023, with prices starting at Rs 1.30 lakh. This remarkable electric vehicle boasts a 2.9 kWh battery, providing an impressive 115 km of range. When it comes to speed, the 450S can reach up to 90 kmph, making it a versatile choice for urban commuting.
Charging the battery is a breeze. At home, it takes just 6 hours and 36 minutes to charge from 0% to 80%. Alternatively, with the Ather Grid fast charger, the 450S can charge at a remarkable speed of up to 1.5 km per minute.
Ather also offers an upgraded version of the 450X, now available with both 2.9kWh and 3.7kWh battery options, extending the certified range to an impressive 115 km and 150 km, respectively.
Both of these electric scooters come equipped with innovative new switchgear and include two additional switches for added convenience and functionality.
Ather Sales
Ather Vehicle Registrations
Ather Energy scooters have seen a month-on-month growth in their vehicle registrations for some months. However, the month of July was an exception, where the company witnessed a drop of 66%. It registered just 1,283 units in July, in contrast to May and June 2022, when Ather successfully registered 3338 and 3829 units, respectively.
Ather Energy – Financials
Ather Financials
FY24
FY23
FY22
FY21
FY20
Revenue
INR 1,789.1 crore
INR 1,801.8 crore
INR 413.8 crore
INR 88.3 crore
INR 48.8 crore
Expenses
INR 2,674.2 crore
INR 2,666.3 crore
INR 757.9 crore
INR 321.6 crore
INR 268.7 crore
Profit/Loss
INR -1,059.7 crore
INR -864.5 crore
INR -344.1 crore
INR -233.3 crore
INR -219.9 crore
Ather Financials FY24
Ather’s revenue in FY24 was nearly the same as FY23, slightly decreasing from INR 1,801.8 crore to INR 1,789.1 crore. However, expenses increased marginally from INR 2,666.3 crore to INR 2,674.2 crore. As a result, losses widened from INR 864.5 crore in FY23 to INR 1,059.7 crore in FY24, indicating higher costs despite stable revenue.
Ather Energy Revenue
Ather Energy’s revenue remained stable in FY24 compared to FY23, primarily driven by product sales.
Revenue Breakdown
FY24
FY23
Revenue from Operations
INR 1,753.8 crore
INR 1,780.9 crore
Other Income
INR 35.3 crore
INR 20.9 crore
Total Revenue
INR 1,789.1 crore
INR 1,801.8 crore
In FY24, Ather’s total revenue slightly declined to INR 1,789.1 crore from INR 1,801.8 crore in FY23. Revenue from operations dropped marginally from INR 1,780.9 crore to INR 1,753.8 crore, while other income increased from INR 20.9 crore to INR 35.3 crore. Despite this, rising expenses led to higher losses.
Ather Energy Expenses
Ather’s expenses surged due to increased material costs and employee benefits.
Expense Category
FY24
FY23
Cost of Materials Consumed
INR 1,579.2 crore
INR 1,537 crore
Purchases of Stock-in-Trade
INR 27.9 crore
INR 92.3 crore
Employee Benefit Expense
INR 369.2 crore
INR 334.8 crore
Finance Costs
INR 89 crore
INR 65 crore
Depreciation & Amortization
INR 146.7 crore
INR 112.8 crore
Other Expenses
INR 437.5 crore
INR 558.3 crore
In FY24, Ather’s total expenses increased slightly to INR 2,674.2 crore from INR 2,666.3 crore in FY23. The cost of materials consumed rose to INR 1,579.2 crore from INR 1,537 crore, and employee benefit expenses grew to INR 369.2 crore from INR 334.8 crore. However, other expenses declined from INR 558.3 crore to INR 437.5 crore, partially offsetting the overall increase in costs.
Ather Energy Profit/Loss
Losses widened further in FY24 due to increased costs and exceptional losses.
Profit/Loss Metric
FY24
FY23
Gross Profit
INR -1,059.7 crore
INR -864.5 crore
Operating Profit
-INR 885.1 crore
INR -864.5 crore
Net Profit/Loss
INR -1,059.7 crore
INR -864.5 crore
Ather continues to experience high losses in both operating and net profit, though the operating loss remained the same from FY23 to FY24. The company needs a shift in its cost structure to break even and achieve profitability.
Quick Summary
Revenue: Revenue remained stable at INR 1,789.1 crore in FY24, compared to INR 1,801.8 crore in FY23.
Expenses: Expenses increased slightly to INR 2,674.2 crore in FY24 from INR 2,666.3 crore in FY23.
Loss: Loss widened to INR 1,059.7 crore in FY24 due to increased operational and exceptional costs.
Ather Energy – Funding and Investors
Ather Energy has raised a total of $578.3 million in funding over 11 rounds.
The latest funding was done by the Government-backed National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of $71 million at a valuation of $1.3 billion making it a Unicorn.
The funding of $128 million, which came in on May 12, 2022, was led by NIIF Ltd. and Hero MotoCorp. It previously raised $56.46 million from Hero MotoCorp on January 14, 2022. Ather Energy has also raised Rs 130 crores ($17.24M) before that from Hero MotoCorp. With all this funding, Ather’s valuation is still shy of $1 billion.
The company raised Rs 84 crore from Hero MotoCorp in July 2020, which increased the auto giant’s stake in Ather to 34.58%. Hero MotoCorp currently holds over 34.8% of the stakes in Ather.
Ather Energy is currently funded by 5 main investors. Before the Serie E round, 34.8% stakes in Ather were held by Hero MotoCorp.
Date
Round
Amount
Lead Investors
Aug 13, 2024
Series E – IV
$71 million
National Investment and Infrastructure Fund
Sep 6, 2023
Private Equity Round
$108.4 million
Hero MotorCorp, GIC
Oct 18, 2022
Series E
$48.05 million
Caladium Investments
Sep 29, 2022
Debt Financing
$6.01 million
InnoVen Capital
May 12, 2022
Series E
$128 million
NIIF Ltd. and Hero MotoCorp
Jan 14, 2022
Series D
$56.46 million
Hero MotoCorp
Jul 24, 2020
Series E
$11.2 million
Hero MotoCorp Ltd.
May 28, 2019
Series D
$51 million
Sachin Bansal
Oct 27, 2016
Series C
$11.2 million
Hero MotoCorp Ltd
May 28, 2019
Series C
$51 million
Sachin Bansal
Oct 27, 2016
Series B
$27 million
Hero MotoCorp Ltd
May 29, 2015
Series A
$12 million
Tiger Global Management
Dec 3, 2014
Seed Round
$1 million
–
The company successfully secured a substantial $108.4 million in funding through a private equity round, with Hero Motorcorp and GIC as the esteemed investors, on September 6, 2023.
Ather Energy – Shareholding
Ather’s shareholding pattern as of September 2024 sourced from Tracxn:
Ather Energy Shareholding
Ather Shareholders
Percentage
Tarun Mehta
6.5%
Swapnil Jain
6.5%
NIIF
16.4%
GIC
14.6%
Tiger Global Management
6.2%
Three State Capital Advisors
0.9%
RTBI
0.5%
Mehta Family Trust
0.3%
Jain Family
0.2%
Tarun Swarna Family Trust
0.2%
Innoven Capital
0.1%
Herald Investment Management
<0.1%
Volpi Cupal Trust
<0.1%
Scale Venture Partners
–
NKSquared Global
–
Hero MotoCorp
34.3%
Kamath Associates
–
Angel
6.7%
Other People
0.7%
ESOP Pool
5.7%
Other Investors
0.2%
Total
100.0%
Ather Energy – ESOPs
Ather Energy has proposed to increase its ESOP pool size. The quantum of the existing Ather Energy ESOP Plan 2021 will reportedly increase by 7,808 stock options, which will increase the ESOP pool size from 37,209 options to 45,017 options, as per regulatory filings.
The Ather board has also approved the adoption of the founders’ stock option plan for 2022. The pool size, as per the agreement of the Series D shareholders, was 12,356 stock options. This is further reduced to 5,214 stock options, and the balance unused pool of 7,142 is proposed for cancellation, as per a separate filing by the company.
The founder’s stock options at Ather have been accessed for the first time and are estimated to be worth around INR 25 crore.
Ather Energy – IPO
Ather Energy submitted its draft papers to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 9 September 2024 for its upcoming IPO. The company plans to raise up to INR 3,100 crore (about $370 million) by issuing new equity shares and will also offer up to 2.2 crore shares for sale, as mentioned in the draft prospectus. The upcoming IPO is set to be valued at $2.4 billion.
Ather Energy – Competitors
The top 10 competitors in Ather Energy’s competitive set are:
To sum up, some of the prominent awards and recognitions that Ather received would be:
The Economic Times Start-up Awards, The Economic Times, 2016
Most Promising Startup Impacting Automotive, IoT Next, 2016
India Electric Mobility Technology Innovation Leadership Award, Frost & Sullivan, 2016
Ather Energy – Challenges Faced
“The biggest challenge and opportunity when you are building an electric vehicle in India is that there is no local ecosystem and that includes not just vendors but also talent among other things. We completely missed out on this when we started the company and that’s why our timelines started looking different. The amount of money started looking very different as we got more and more into it,” says Tarun Mehta, CEO of Ather Energy.
Being a hardware startup, Ather has seen its challenges. Tarun Mehta has pointed out that in the case of Ather, they “can’t ship a minimum viable product.” “With hardware, you can’t move fast and break things”, added Mehta. This impeded the growth and delivery of Ather hugely, but the promising EV startup is finding ways to improve the delivery process and fasten the growth of the company.
Mehta also stated that for the EVs, “there’s no ecosystem in place in India”, which might have distributed the workload. Ather Energy CEO further added that the company is the sole manufacturer and distributor of the scooter, its batteries, and other accessories, and therefore, it must test all of them thoroughly.
Another challenge for the scooters is that there isn’t a promising culture of designing and developing products locally. “Finding the right talent to work at Ather has been challenging,” the Ather CEO said.
Ather e-bike fire accident
Ather reported a fire accident in one of its Chennai showrooms on May 27, 2022, which is the first fire accident that the bike manufacturers witnessed in their EVs. Within a few hours of the accident, the company confirmed via its official Twitter handle that the accident occurred in one of its damaged vehicles on water entering through the cracks of its battery pack.
Ather Energy – Partnerships
The company has partnered with like-minded organizations to “accelerate the adoption of electric mobility for a sustainable future,” says the Ather website. Some of the other popular partners of Ather Energy are WeWork and Altair. Here are some of the latest partnerships.
Vaidya Energy
On October 9, 2023, Ather Energy entered into a partnership with Vaidya Energy, a division of Vaidya’s Organization of Industries & Trading Hoses. With the help of this partnership, the business will facilitate product sales and services in Nepal and install fast charging stations.
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In order to make it easier for young people in India’s Gen Z population to acquire Ather cars, OTO, a digital commerce platform and operator in the two-wheeler finance market, formed a strategic digital business relationship with Ather Energy on November 16, 2023.
Ather Energy – Future Plans
According to Mehta, the big challenge that now lay ahead of them was how to not make Ather feel like a boring automotive company keeping the culture and excitement alive while still bringing in the rigors and discipline that they need to get a world-class hardware product out.
With the factory plant in Whitefield, Bengaluru, the company is ready to begin production, and the orders coming in. Ather is getting ready with the first lot of production.
“The first lot planned is for 2,000 vehicles and over a year’s time, the production planned is 10,000 vehicles. Based on the supply chain constraints, we will have to decide the batch size of production,” says Jain, adding next will be ramp up both in sales and the product map. “When you do a new product, it is not very easy to assemble… manufacturing challenges will pop up. So, we will improve product from that perspective to be able to ramp up really fast.”
The team has begun work on developing a new vehicle platform that it says will be more scalable. It is slated to be ready soon. He won’t go with much financial detail, but according to Mehta, the 50,000-unit sales mark, when calculated on a per-unit basis, ought to be able to break even. The challenge for electric two-wheeler companies, though, will be to attract new customers.
Tarun Mehta, CEO of Ather Energy is looking to increase the capacity of the company to manufacture 35,000 scooters by this year from the present mark of 10,000 and aims to further hit the capacity of 1 million by next year.
Ather stands big and tall in the growing space with DNA going back to research labs, a design built from scratch, and a product that can be traced to custom spec sheets. Will that give it customers and success as a scooter company? Time will tell. But its journey this long is all about learnings, sucker punches, small wins, big bets, uncharted paths, and early positioning in a market that holds promise.
Ather Energy is a startup focused on designing and selling premium electric two-wheeler vehicles for the Indian market. It is one of the best electric scooter startups in India. The company has offered two electric scooters for the Indian market, Ather 450 and 450X. Ather has recently introduced their latest electric vehicle, the 450S, to the market.
Who are Ather Energy owners?
Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain founded the Indian electric vehicle company Ather Energy in 2013.
What is the price of Ather 450X in India?
The price of the Ather 450X starts at Rs.1.18 Lakh and goes up to Rs.1.38 Lakh. Ather 450X is one of the two products offered by Ather Energy.
Ather is from which country?
Ather is an Indian company. The electric vehicle company was founded by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain in 2013.
What is the headquarters location of Ather Energy?
Ather Energy is an Indian electric vehicle company headquartered in Bengaluru.
Which companies does Ather compete with?
The top 10 competitors of Ather Energy are GoGreenBOV, Ampere, Ola Electric, Okinawa Scooters, AVERA, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, TVS, Pure EV, Tork Motors Pvt.
Who is Ather CEO?
The Ather CEO is Tarun Mehta.
What is Ather tagline?
Ather tagline is All Brain. All Power. All Electric.
According to reports, Ather Energy, an electric car startup, is aiming for a $2.4 billion value for its impending initial public offering (IPO) this year. The new valuation is more than 80% higher than its previous round of fundraising, according to a media story that cited sources. The firm will submit its final clarifications to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the market watchdog, and submit its revised draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) by the end of January or the first few weeks of the subsequent month, according to the article.
How Company Plans to Utilise Funds?
Ather intended to use INR 750 Cr, or 25% of the fresh issue part of the INR 3,100 Cr IPO, for research and development (R&D) in accordance with its original DRHP, which was submitted in September. Additionally, INR 927 Cr will be set aside for the establishment of a new facility in Maharashtra. According to reports, the unicorn in e-mobility was aiming for an IPO price of about $2.5 billion. It should be noted that this development occurs weeks after SEBI approved Ather’s plans to go public. According to the SEBI website, the markets regulator sent Ather the observation letter on December 23.
Recent Developments at Ather
Ather Energy, which was founded in 2013 by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain, produces battery packs and electric two-wheelers in addition to having its own charging station. The company recently introduced the Rizta family escooter series and ventured into the smart helmet industry after expanding its market with its 450 line of ebikes. After raising INR 600 Cr from its current investor NIIF in August 2024 at a post-money valuation of $1.3 billion, the EV powerhouse became a unicorn. However, the slowdown in the number of EVs sold in the broader market impacted Ather Energy, which experienced a 19% drop in vehicle registrations to 10,429 last month from 12,909 in November.
Good News for Nikhil Kamath!
Nikhil Kamath, a well-known podcaster and cofounder of Zerodha, will also benefit from one of the fastest value increases due to IPO valuation, as his 5% ownership will increase to over $100 million in around six months.
By purchasing Flipkart cofounder Sachin Bansal’s share last year, Kamath made his debut on the Ather cap table. At a value below the unicorn round, Kamath is thought to have paid about $40 million for the Ather stake.
With investments in a number of early-, late-, and IPO-bound firms, Kamath has become a prominent player in India’s digital economy. Among the companies in his portfolio are Bluestone and Subko Coffee.
Hero MotoCorp, the biggest shareholder in Ather with roughly a 37% interest, will be listed as a co-promoter and will not be selling any shares during the offer-for-sale (OFS) window. Another Flipkart cofounder, Binny Bansal, is selling off a portion of his investment in the EV manufacturer as part of the IPO. Other stockholders include GIC and Tiger Global.
Ather Energy, a maker of electric two-wheelers, has sent its DRHP to Sebi to launch an initial public offering (IPO).
According to the DRHP, the investors and promoters would sell 2.2 crore equity shares in the anticipated first public offering (IPO), raising INR 3,100 crore.
Capital expenditure for establishing an electric two-wheeler plant in Maharashtra, investment in R&D, marketing campaigns, loan repayment, and general business objectives are among the many intended uses of the fresh issue proceeds.
Organizations such as IITM Incubation Cell, IITMS Rural Technology and Business Incubator, 3State Ventures Pte Ltd, Caladium Investment Pte Ltd, and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund II participate in the OFS.
Second Electric Two Wheeler Company to Go Public
Immediately following Ola Electric Mobility’s initial public offering (IPO) of INR 6,145 crore, which was submitted in August, Ather Energy is the second electric two-wheeler startup that is looking to go public. A fresh issuance of up to INR 5,500 crore and an OFS of up to 8,49,41,997 equity shares were both part of Ola Electric’s initial public offering (IPO), which was also the first issue by an automobile manufacturer in India in more than twenty years.
There are a total of seven different variations available for the Ather 450 and the Ather Rizta, which are the two product lines that are currently included in Ather Energy’s inventory.
An ecosystem of products, which includes charging infrastructure, accessories, and the Atherstack, provides support for the E2Ws that are manufactured by Ather Energy. Axis Capital, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) Pvt Ltd, JM Financial, and Nomura Financial Advisory Securities (India) Pvt Ltd are the companies that are in charge of the book-running for the offering.
Financial Report Card of Ather
According to the DRHP, the company sold 109,577 E2Ws during the most recent fiscal year, which is an increase over the previous fiscal year’s total of 92,093 units and the previous fiscal year’s total of 23,402 units. Its revenue from operations in FY24 was determined to be INR 1,753.8 crore, which is a decrease from the previous year’s figure of INR 1,780.9 crore. In comparison to the previous fiscal year, when it had a net loss of INR 864.5 crore, it now has a net loss of INR 1,059.7 crore.
The OFS component will involve the sale of 10 lakh equity shares by each of the promoters, Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain. Both of them currently possess a stake in the company that is equivalent to 6.63 percent. On the other hand, Hero MotoCorp Ltd., which holds 37.20 percent of the company’s outstanding shares, will not be selling any of them.
