Oben Electric, a Bengaluru-based EV startup, has raised INR 40 crore in an extended pre-series A round, bringing its total pre-series A fundraise to INR 72 crore (equity & debt). The brand has raised INR 88 crore since its inception, enabling it to expand its distribution network and strengthen its production capacity at its 3.5-acre manufacturing facility in Bengaluru to 100,000 units annually.
Institutional investors, including Stride Ventures and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) and new investors like Mumbai Angels and other high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), participated in the funding round. In each funding round, the company’s existing investors, including Kalvani Family Office, US India EV Angels, and We Founder Circle, also participated, and demonstrating their continued support for Oben Electric.
The performance electric motorcycle “Oben Rorr” will start to be delivered in the first week of July 2023, according to Oben Electric, which recently opened its first experience centre in HSR Layout, Bangalore. The EV startup has a distribution network in major Indian cities and aims to increase manufacturing capacity to handle the demand of 21,000 pre-orders.
The Rorr electric motorcycle from Oben Electric stands out for its in-house design, development, and localization efforts, backed by 21 patents and 95% component-level localization. It also sets a benchmark with the highest certified range of 187 km (IDC) among electric two-wheelers in India. In-house-built and developed LFP (Lithium Ferrous Phosphorous) cell technology battery pack, which offers two times (2x) longer battery life and 50% higher heat resistance, makes it the safest electric two-wheeler in India, according to the company.
Madhumita Agrawal, Founder and CEO, Oben Electric, expressed her excitement about the latest funding round, stating, “The additional infusion of funds was raised after meticulously planning the delivery dates and to meet the existing and future customer demand of our product Oben Rorr. We are delighted that the latest infusion of funds will be used to meet our committed delivery timeline for the 1st Week of July.”
On investment in Oben EV, Nandini Mansinghka, CEO, Mumbai Angels, affirmed, “EV has emerged as one of the hottest sectors in the startup ecosystem. With this funding round, Oben moves one step further into becoming one of the brightest trailblazers in the space in India. We congratulate the dynamic team at Oben and hope they continue setting new benchmarks while helping the world ride towards a greener tomorrow.”
