Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, has invested in Ola Electric Mobility Pvt Ltd (Ola Electric) as part of its Series A round of funding. Tata was also an early investor in ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd, Ola’s parent company.
In a statement, Ola said the investment would bring Ratan Tata’s “deep experience and mentorship to the company’s ambitions to make electric mobility viable at scale”.
“Mr. Tata’s investment in Ola Electric is a significant endorsement of the company’s approach to developing an electric mobility ecosystem, including innovations in charging infrastructure, swapping models, and market-appropriate products. Ola Electric is currently running several pilots involving charging solutions, battery swapping stations, and deploying vehicles across two, three and four-wheeler segments,” the company said in a statement.
Speaking on the development, Tata 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.”
Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-founder & CEO, Ola said, “Mr 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. He is a visionary who has inspired a generation of entrepreneurs and 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.”
The company statement said Ola Electric Mobility Pvt Ltd 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.