Ratan Tata Invests in Ola’s EV Business

This investment, which is part of OEM’s series A round of funding, is in Tata’s personal capacity, Ola said in a statement. However, the details of the funding were not disclosed.

“His investment in Ola Electric will bring his deep experience and mentorship to the company’s ambitions to make electric mobility viable at scale,” it added. Tata is also an early investor in ANI Technologies, Ola’s parent company. He had invested in ANI Technologies in July 2015.

“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.” Ola Electric is currently running several pilots involving charging solutions, battery swapping stations, and deploying vehicles across two, three and four-wheeler segments.

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Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO of Ola said Tata has been a mentor to him personally, and inspiration 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…. 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 added.

OEM was initially established to enable Ola’s electric mobility pilot programme in Nagpur. In 2018, Ola subsequently announced Mission: Electric’ to bring 1 million electric vehicles on Indian roads by 2021.

In March this year, OEM had announced raising Rs 400 crore in a funding round led by Tiger Global and Matrix India. In the same month, Ola raised $300 Mn from South Korean auto giant Hyundai and its affiliate Kia Motors to fund a strategic partnership to build India-specific electric vehicles and infrastructure.

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.