Ola Electric Mobility announced that Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, in his personal capacity, has invested an undisclosed amount in the company as part of its Series A round of funding. Ratan Tata is also an early investor in ANI Technologies, Ola’s parent company.
Ola Electric said it is currently running several pilots involving charging solutions, battery swapping stations and deploying vehicles across two-, three- and four-wheeler segments. “The electric vehicle ecosystem is evolving dramatically every day, and I believe Ola Electric will play a key role in its growth and development,” said Ratan Tata.
“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,” Tata said.
Ola Electric Mobility, prior to this investment, 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. The company was initially established to enable Ola’s electric mobility pilot programme in Nagpur. In 2018, Ola announced ‘Mission: Electric’ to bring 1 million electric vehicles on Indian roads by 2021.
“His investment in Ola Electric will bring his deep experience and mentorship to the company’s ambitions to make electric mobility viable at scale,” Ola said in a statement.
Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO of Ola, said Tata has been a mentor to him personally, and an inspiration in shaping Ola’s journey over the years. “I am very excited to welcome him on board Ola Electric as an investor and a mentor…. We are privileged to have his guidance and support once again, as we work towards our goal of a million electric vehicles in India by 2021,” he said.