As the world shifts towards sustainable transportation, India has witnessed the rise of several electric vehicle (EV) startups. Among them, Ather Energy stands out as a true pioneer. Founded in 2013, Ather Energy quickly became a leading name in India’s EV market, making waves with its electric scooters. In 2021, it achieved unicorn status, becoming one of the most successful startups in the Indian electric vehicle sector. This blog delves into the journey of Ather Energy—from its humble beginnings to its revolutionary electric vehicles (EVs) and the visionaries who made it all possible.
The Birth of Ather Energy
Ather Energy was jointly founded in 2013 by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain. Both originated from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, where they contributed to an EV (electric vehicle) technology project. The inspiration for Ather Energy came from their joint experience of feeling stagnant with the informativeness of the Indian two-wheeler sector.
Identifying the Market Gap
There was a lack of high quality, good design and decent electric scooter in Indian market.
The Vision
To design a smart-electric vehicle that can be plugged and played as an eco-friendly, high-performance, replacing a conventional motorcycle of India.
The Prototype: From Concept to Reality
Having Ather Energy set up, the two spent the initial years of development on the Ather 450, an electric scooter, on the production line. It was not a road of gold for us, yet it was most telling of relentless innovation and dogged crisis-solving capacity. Research team paid great attention to an innovative product development that combined high technology Indian cultural features and that the vehicle would comply to Indian market demand.
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The Technology Behind Ather Energy
Ather’s scooters stand out for their technology and design. The Ather 450 has a touchscreen instrument panel, smart navigation and connectivity in the cloud. Those functions made it not only an electric scooter, but also a smart device, unlike electric vehicles. Moreover, Ather made its own battery management system (BMS) and motor controller to achieve the best performance and a more pleasant ride.
Testing and R&D Challenges
Building the prototype wasn’t without its challenges. In interviews, the founders have described the evolutionary and experimental stages that Ather has gone through before publicly launching the first iteration of its scooter. They experimented with different designs, materials, and battery types to create the most efficient and durable product. Early prototypes faced issues such as limited battery life and charging infrastructure, which were common challenges for EV manufacturers in India.
Despite these hurdles, Ather continued to innovate. The company launched the Ather Grid (a grid of rapid chargers) to respond to one of the principal issues of EV charging (charging availability). The Grid provided a game changer, giving consumers the ability to travel long distances on electric scooter at any time.
The Road to Unicorn Status
Ather Energy became a unicorn in 2021 thanks to fundings from investors including Hero MotoCorp, Sachin Bansal, co-founder of Flipkart Binny Bansal, etc. That milestone also served as a sign of the state of such great capacity and scaling for the company.
Rapid Growth and Market Expansion
Up to 2020, Ather had sold more than 10,000 scooters, which is a substantive result given the still young Indian electric vehicle market. The business expanded its footprint rapidly by setting up manufacturing facilities and expanding production. Upgraded product Ather 450X was introduced with enhanced features like longer battery power up time and rapid charging.
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Industry Recognition
Ather’s success did not go unnoticed. It gained a number of design and technology awards, and the Ather 450X received particular praise for their innovative and performance-enhancing features. Such eco-friendly practices and commitment to sustainability of the company got recognized not only within India, but also in global level.
Hidden Stories and Lesser-Known Facts About Ather Energy
The First Investor
Whereas now it supports large companies such as Hero MotoCorp, it started with investments from Tarun and Swapnil, their respective links to IIT Madras. Among their first investors was Arun Kumar, an IIT graduate who invested in their vision of changing the face of India's transportation with electric vehicles. This investment was important in getting Ather started.
A Vision for Sustainable Mobility
Founders of Ather Energy have made a continued efforts regarding the sustainability of mobility. In a recent interview, Tarun Mehta mentioned that Ather’s goal wasn’t just to sell electric scooters—it was to promote a larger movement towards sustainable transportation. This vision is reflected, not only in their products, but also in carbon emission reduction initiatives across India.
The Struggle with Charging Infrastructure
In early developmental stages concerning charging, Ather struggled with charging infrastructure. At the very beginning, the inability of ubiquitous, scalable, and consistent network to provide charging was a major contributing factor to the penetration of EVs in India. To overcome this, Ather played the daring step of introducing the internal charging network of the company, the Ather Grid, in the main streets of the biggest cities. It was a very high risk, but that risk was justified in order to get the trust of the clients of the company.
Customer-Centric Approach
Customer response and development is, even, an important role that is given to the Ather Energy. Founders disclosed that they communicate with customers, inter alia, by listening in social channels from their customers, in order to discover customer issues. The feedback collected has been instrumental in product iterations. E.g, a recovered 450X Ather revolutionary battery power budget from the customer was obtained from a direct power budget of the extended pacing range.
The Bootstrapped Beginnings
Ather Energy was a bootstrap company until recently when it received much capital. Founders invested both their own money and property in product design and market testing during the early stages of the product. Back then, this was of great significance to them in order to exploit the chance of laying a solid base for the future development of the company.
The Impact of Ather Energy on the EV Market
Pioneering EV Adoption in India
The entry of Ather Energy as a player in the electric mobility ecosystem in India was a paradigm shift. One of the original companies offering premium smart electric scooters as a direct threat to the establishment of ubiquitous petrol-powered two-wheeled transport.
Creating an EV Ecosystem
At programmes such as the Ather Grid, Ather has been facilitating the creation of an EV ecosystem in India. The company has been operating in the area of development and infrastructure and providing support to facilitate consumer adoption of EVs.
Driving Industry Innovation
At the same time Ather Energy's technology has filtered down elsewhere in the Indian electric vehicle (EV) landscape, that has led the industry to evolve with larger and better designs, more efficient batteries and lower cost.
What’s Next for Ather Energy?
Looking ahead, Ather Energy has big plans. The company is focused on:
- There is a need, too, production capacity of, and production houses, as a whole.
- Advancement in the batteries' technology to the increase in driving range and decrease in the charging time.
- Growth of the Ather Grid facilitating access to a larger number of charging points in India.
- The creation of new, electrically powered vehicles (ie, those outside of scooters) opening a market for the electric vehicle user.
Conclusion
The transformation from a small company to the status of a unicorn of Ather Energy Ltd. is quite astonishing. Founders Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain have also demonstrated that by innovation, perseverance, and commitment to sustainable practices, traditional business can be disrupted. Ather Energy is well positioned to lead the India green transportation revolution being backed by the rising demand for electric vehicles.
Ather Energy is a company to keep an eye on when it comes to the mobility of the India of the future. Its success is a super bright illustration of what is possible through innovation, and how a startup can make a difference in the world.