Ola Electric announced Monday it has raised $200 million in a new round of funding, even as the Indian ride-hailing giant’s spin-off is struggling to ship its first electric scooter to customers Work culture issues were raised.
Tekne Private Ventures, Alpine Opportunity Fund and Edelweiss are among those who funded the new round, which values Ola Electric at $5 billion $3 billion last September, said the Bengaluru-based startup.
“I thank investors for their support and look forward to working with them to take the EV revolution from India to the world,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO of Ola Electric, in a statement. The startup is looking to expand into more categories, including cars, he said.
Ola Electric – which counts Tiger Global and Alpha Wave Global among its existing backers – announced its first electric scooter called the Ola S1 last year. Priced at around $1,350, the battery-powered scooter offers a range of 121 kilometers (75 miles) on a full charge.
That’s more of a hypothetical/unverified claim for most individuals as the startup has delayed shipping the scooter multiple times. And at best, only a tiny fraction of the customer base that pre-ordered the vehicle received it.
Meanwhile, Bounce, another startup based in Bengaluru, has done so presented its own electric scooter that many analysts say promises to pack more than Ola’s offering.
Two-wheelers account for more than three quarters of all vehicles sold in India. The push of start-ups and major vehicle manufacturers, coupled with favorable government incentives in recent years, is beginning to steer India’s push towards electric vehicles in the right direction. Analysts at UBS wrote in a report last week that they estimate that 37% of all two-wheelers in India will be electric by the end of the decade.
But in order for this forecast to come true, many factors must work together correctly.
One of them could be the work culture at Ola, one of India’s biggest startups. Ola and Ola Electric have also left several key executives in recent months as a result of what Indian outlet Morning Context reported toxic work culture and suspicious CEO. Aggarwal is also co-founder and CEO of Ola, which recently raised capital with a valuation of $7.3 billion.
