NEW DELHI: Tata Group chairman emeritus Ratan Tata has invested an undisclosed amount in cab aggregator Ola’s newly formed venture, Ola Electric Mobility, to scale up its electric vehicle (EV) deployment in India. Tata is already an early investor in Ola’s parent company ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd.
Tata, who has funded dozens of startups in his personal capacity, said, “The electric vehicle ecosystem is evolving dramatically every day, and I believe Ola Electric will play a key role in its growth and development. I have always admired the vision of Bhavish Aggarwal and I’m confident that this will be part of yet another important strategic move into this new business area.”
This Series A round of funding in the recently formed Electric Mobility is in Tata’s personal capacity. Ola Electric has raised a sum of Rs 400 crore led by several of Ola’s early investors, Tiger Global and Matrix India and others, as part of its first round of investment.
Ola said that Tata’s decision to invest is significant endorsement of the company’s approach to developing an electric mobility ecosystem, including innovations in charging infrastructure, swapping models, and market-appropriate products.
Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder & CEO, Ola said, “Tata has been an inspiration and a mentor to me personally in shaping Ola’s journey over the years. I’m very excited to welcome him on board Ola Electric as an investor and a mentor in our mission of building sustainable mobility for everyone on our planet.”
Ola Electric is currently running several pilots involving charging solutions, battery swapping stations, and deploying vehicles across two, three and four-wheeler segments. The firm had earlier announced to have 1 million EVs on Indian roads by 2021.
Recently the Bengaluru based firm had raised $300 million from South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motors along with its affiliate Kia Motors. As part of the deal, Hyundai plans to introduce its EVs in the cab fleet of Ola by 2021.