- Ola Electric filed for a $662M IPO, valuing it up to $8B.
- Funds expand manufacturing capacity amid strong investor appetite.
- Early backers are selling some shares alongside founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal.
On Friday, Ola Electric, India’s leading electric vehicle startup, filed draft paperwork for an initial public offering (IPO) to raise $662 million.
A ~$8 Billion Valuation
The proposed offering from the six-year-old company values it between $6.5 billion and $8 billion. The filing comes on the heels of Ola Electric raising $384 million in October from investors like Temasek and the State Bank of India.
The company plans to use a portion of IPO funds to expand manufacturing capacity for lithium-ion cells from 5 to 6.4 gigawatt hours.
Early Investors Selling Some of Their Shares
Ola Electric founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal will sell some of his shares in the offering alongside other early investors like SoftBank and Tiger Global. The IPO seeks to capitalize on the company’s early lead in India’s electric two-wheeler market, which currently commands a 35% share.
However, Ola Electric’s losses in the past fiscal year reached $176 million. The company’s prospectus also points to potential risks like high employee attrition and reliance on support from Aggarwal, who splits time running Ola Electric and the ride-hailing firm Ola.
Strong Investor Appetite
Investor appetite for India’s booming EV sector remains strong nonetheless. Ola Electric’s public listing would mark the first IPO from an Indian two-wheeler manufacturer in over 15 years.
With backing from leaders like Softbank’s Vision Fund, the company is gearing up for ambitious EVs, batteries, and manufacturing plans.
