Ather Energy vs Ola Electric: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Ather Energy and Ola Electric side by side

1. 2013Ather Energy

   Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain incorporate Ather Energy in Bengaluru

   Mehta leaves Ashok Leyland and Jain leaves General Motors to work on lithium-ion battery packs, and register Ather Energy in Karnataka with incubation support from IIT Madras.

2. 2014Ather Energy

   Flipkart founders back Ather with its first outside capital

   Early in 2014 Ather receives ~$52,200 (INR 4.5 million) from the Technology Development Board, IIT Madras and angel investor Srini V. Srinivasan; in December, Flipkart founders Sachin and Binny Bansal invest USD 1 million of seed capital.

3. 2015Ather Energy

   Tiger Global leads a USD 12 million round

   Tiger Global invests USD 12 million to fund development, testing, production tooling and the launch of Ather's first vehicle.

4. 2016Ather Energy

   S340 concept unveiled and Hero MotoCorp invests ~$20.9 million (INR 180 crore)

   Ather shows the S340 concept scooter in Bengaluru on 23 February 2016, and in October Hero MotoCorp puts ~$20.9 million (INR 180 crore) into the Series B round, beginning a partnership that later made it the largest shareholder.

5. 2017Ola Electric

   Founded as Electric Mobility Subsidiary of ANI Technologies

   Bhavish Aggarwal established Ola Electric to pilot commercial EV fleets and charging infrastructure.

6. 2018Ather Energy

   Ather 450 and 340 go on sale with the Ather Grid

   Ather starts customer deliveries of the Ather 450 and the entry-level 340 in Bengaluru and opens its own fast-charging network, the Ather Grid, at the same time. The 340 is discontinued in September 2019 for want of demand.

7. 2019Ola Electric

   Spun Off as an Independent Company

   Ola Electric became a standalone company and raised funding from investors including SoftBank.

8. 2020Ather Energy

   Ather 450X launched in January

   The 450X replaces the 450 with a faster Warp mode, 4G connectivity and a touchscreen dashboard. Ather sold 3,007 scooters in the fiscal year to March 2020 on revenue of ~$4.09M (INR 35.3 Cr).

9. 2020Ola Electric

   Acquisition of Dutch EV Startup Etergo BV

   Acquired Amsterdam-based Etergo to license its sleek AppScooter intellectual property and chassis.

10. 2021Ola Electric

    Opening of 500-Acre Futurefactory & Launch of Ola S1

    Constructed the automated Futurefactory in Tamil Nadu and launched the flagship Ola S1 and S1 Pro scooters.

11. 2022Ather Energy

    Series E of USD 128 million and a second Hosur plant

    In May 2022 Ather raises USD 128 million led by the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund and Hero MotoCorp. In November it opens its second Hosur factory, taking installed capacity at the site to 420,000 vehicles a year.

12. 2022Ola Electric

    Selected for Government 20 GWh Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) PLI

    Won the Indian government's Production Linked Incentive for domestic battery cell manufacturing.

13. 2023Ather Energy

    Ather's charging connector becomes India's national light-EV standard

    In October 2023 the Bureau of Indian Standards approves the combined AC and DC connector Ather developed with ARAI, NITI Aayog and other makers as the national standard for light electric vehicles.

14. 2024Ather Energy

    450 Apex, the Rizta and unicorn valuation

    Ather launches the 450 Apex in January at ~$2,192 (INR 1.89 lakh) with a 100 km/h top speed and the Magic Twist throttle, adds the family scooter Rizta in April, and in August raises USD 71 million from NIIF at a USD 1.3 billion valuation.

15. 2024Ola Electric

    Landmark IPO on NSE/BSE Raising 6,145 Crore ($735M USD)

    Successfully listed on the Indian stock exchanges, funding its 20 GWh battery cell Gigafactory.

16. 2025Ather Energy

    Ather lists on the NSE and BSE

    The IPO raises ~$346 million (INR 2,981 crore) at an issue price of INR 321 per share and the stock lists on 6 May 2025 at INR 328 on the NSE before closing its first day at INR 300. In October Ather builds its 500,000th scooter.

17. 2025Ola Electric

    Market Share Slide and Cost Reset

    Revenue fell to ~$524 million (₹4,514 crore) in FY25 as TVS and Bajaj overtook Ola in electric two-wheeler registrations.

18. 2026Ather Energy

    First EBITDA-positive quarter and the Konarc launch

    Ather sells 262,942 vehicles in FY2026 for ~$426M (INR 3,672 Cr) of revenue and cuts its net loss to ~$60M (INR 517 Cr).

19. 2026Ather Energy

    Hero MotoCorp lifts its holding to about 32.8 percent

    After Tiger Global exits with a ~$140 million (INR 1,204 crore) sale in November 2025, Hero MotoCorp subscribes to ~$111 million (INR 960 crore) of warrants in a ~$139 million (INR 1,200 crore) preferential issue in July 2026 and then buys up to $204 million (…

20. 2026Ola Electric

    FY26 Revenue Halves; Gigafactory Ramp and New Fundraises

    FY26 revenue fell to ~$261 million (₹2,253 crore); Ola raised ~$90.5 million (₹780 crore) via QIP, launched Mahashakti energy storage and approved a ~$116 million (₹1,000 crore) rights issue.

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