ATHER ENERGY: A Unicorn Start-up

We all know that the Automobile market nowadays is largely shifting towards EVs (Electric Vehicles) as it is marketed as less polluting vehicles.

Are they really?

This is a big question that is still in the minds of many people but this shift for EVs started in the year 2021 after the COVID lockdown, just Imagine that 8 years ago an Indian Startup predicted that sooner or later this shift would take place and Established there own Company called 'Ather Energy'.

Ather was founded in April 2013 by two IIT graduates Mr. Tarun Mehta & Mr. Swapnil Jain both of them are pass out from IIT Madras in the year 2012. They had an ambition to build the Electric Scooter which is wholly MADE IN INDIA and it should not be a normal EV but an Intelligent Scooter. Therefore they started their company in Bengaluru. They did a lot of research to make a scooter that would revolutionize the whole Automobile Market and throughout this period of research, they made a few funding rounds and one of their first investors was IIT Madras technology department board as they trusted their idea and were willing to be a part.

Their research led to the first product which was launched in February 2016 'S340' at a conference in Bengaluru. Today they are the third largest EV two-wheeler manufacturer, in present it has two manufacturing facilities one in Bengaluru and the other in the state of Tamil Nadu. They have their presence in 15+ states across the country. It has also established EV charging infrastructure across the country known as 'ATHER GRID'. It is spread across 80+ cities as of MAY 2023. Their product portfolio includes Ather Rizta (recently launched), Ather Apex, Ather 450S, Ather 450X, etc.

As they were continuously upgrading and launching new products the company gained the status of UNICORN in the year 2023 as their market cap reached $1.3 Billion, they raised funds from 'NIIF' of $71 Million. Soon they will launch their IPO with a valuation target of $2.5 Billion

Challenges for Ather

Though on paper the company looks great they do have some serious challenges that need to be addressed as soon as possible

1. Ather was one of those companies that had the advantage of first comer and early starter but today they are way behind their other competitors in market share.

2. The marketing for the company is seen to fall short, though they have launched many innovative technologies but consumers don't know it.

3. The Price for their vehicle is a bit higher than other competitors which affects their sales to a certain limit.

What about the Future of the Company?

During the research we got to know that all these challenges that we discussed are already known by the CEO as they have even addressed it in a few interviews I feel they will overcome them and can acquire the market share.....

Disclaimer:

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