Tuesday 2 December 2014

Flipkart’s Bansals pump Rs 6 cr in e-bike startup Ather

Flipkart founders Sachin and Binny Bansal have made an angel investment of Rs 6.1 crore in electric vehicle start-up Ather.

Incubated and supported by IIT Madras, Ather was started by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain in 2013 with an aim to design high-speed electric two-wheelers for India. The funding will be a boost for Ather's product development efforts.

This marks the second round of funding for Ather and also includes investment from Raju Venkatraman, serial entrepreneur and CEO of Medall.

The start-up had raised its first round of capital in February this year from V Srinivas (founder of Aerospike) and the Technology Development Board of the government of India.

Ather currently employs a team of 15 engineers and designers.

Its founders are keen to develop technology to manufacture the "best electric vehicles for India".

Indian startup CEOs who have raised large funding are now turning angel investors and mentors to young entrepreneurs.

Bangalore-based Sachin, Mukesh and Binny Bansal have already invested in startups such as Zopnow and NewsInShorts in recent past.

Snapdeal co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal have invested in Ola Cabs while Eka CEO Manav Garg is an investor in startups such as StayZilla, social media newspaper Frrole and enterprise software maker OrangeScape.

"We are very excited about this fresh round of funding. Sachin and Binny Bansal are leaders who have put India's e-commerce industry on the global map through disruptive use of technology. Their focus on technology and reinvention aligns with that of Ather," said Tarun Mehta.

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