Ola Electric becomes India's newest unicorn, as SoftBank pumps in $250M
With this latest infusion, Ola Electric Mobility (OEM) has joined the list of unicorns in India that includes names like Flipkart, Zomato, Paytm as well as its parent, Ola.
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Ola's electric vehicle arm, Ola Electric Mobility has secured a funding of over Rs 1,725 crore (about $250 million) from SoftBank, according to regulatory documents.
With this latest infusion, Ola Electric Mobility (OEM) has joined the list of unicorns in India that includes names like Flipkart, Zomato, Paytm as well as its parent, Ola.
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Ola founder: Bhavish Aggarwal
As per regulatory documents filed with the Registrar of Companies, OEM issued "4,326 fully and compulsorily convertible series B preference shares of face value of Rs 10 each having the rights, privileges and preferences..." to SB Topaz (Cayman) Ltd. The total amount paid was about Rs 1,725.04 crore, it added.
In a tweet, Bhavish Aggarwal said that he was excited to partner with Masayoshi Son's Softbank to build electric mobility in India:
The allotment was made on Tuesday following a special resolution passed by the board members on June 25, the filing showed.
SoftBank is also the single largest investor in Ola.
In May, Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata - who is also an investor in Ola - had invested an undisclosed amount in OEM as part of series A funding round.
Speaking on his investment, Ratan Tata, said in a press statement, then 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. 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.”
Also as part of the Series A, OEM had announced raising Rs 400 crore led by Tiger Global and Matrix India in March this year.
Ola Electric is currently running several pilots involving charging solutions, battery swapping stations, and deploying vehicles across two, three and four-wheeler segments.
OEM 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.
