EV startup River raises $40 million in a Series B funding by Yamaha Motor Corp
Bangalore based EV Scooter, River has raised $40 million in a Series B funding round led by Yamaha Motor Corp and existing investors such as UAE-based Al-Futtaim Automotive, Lowercarbon Capital, and Toyota Ventures. Existing investors in the round included Silicon Valley investor Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital, Toyota Ventures, Maniv Mobility, and Trucks VC, according to the company.
The additional capital will assist the firm in expanding its manufacturing and distribution networks, with deliveries planned to begin in August of this year. While other electric scooter companies such as Ather and Ola have received hundreds of millions of dollars, Aravind Mani, CEO and Co-founder believes that $15 million is sufficient at this point of the company's development.
Co-founder of River Aravind Mani told that, they are planning to enter 100 cities over the next two years, and metro cities such as Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Thiruvananthapuram, among others, are at the top of its list.
The Co-founders Mani and Vipin George have already begun accepting reservations for its first vehicle, Indie. Mani did not provide anticipated production and sales figures, as the company is expected to raise the price of the scooter in response to the central government's decision to cut the subsidy per car under its scheme to encourage the use of electric vehicles.
Mani stated that the corporation would make no modifications to the declared model and that the government decision would solely effect the pricing of its automobile. River's first product is Indie, an e-scooter that retails at Rs. 1.38 lakh, lesser than Ather Energy's top variant, the Ather 450 Apex, which starts at Rs. 1.88 lakh.
Chairman of Yamaha Motor Ventures, Jim Aota Hajime told in a press conference that, they are very excited about the conviction that Aravind and Vipin have for River and how Yamaha can support the company to achieve this. Tel Aviv's Maniv Mobility and San Francisco-based Trucks VC have also invested in the company.
The national government lowered the subsidy for electric two-wheelers from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 10,000 per kilowatt hour (kWh). River has a 4kWh battery, which could result in a Rs. 20,000 price rise. River's third round of funding comes after a $ 2 million seed round in March 2021 and a $ 11 million round in July 2022. River is also the sole Indian investment for Al-Futtaim, Toyota Ventures, Trucks VC, and Maniv Mobility.
The additional capital will assist the firm in expanding its manufacturing and distribution networks, with deliveries planned to begin in August of this year. While other electric scooter companies such as Ather and Ola have received hundreds of millions of dollars, Aravind Mani, CEO and Co-founder believes that $15 million is sufficient at this point of the company's development.
Co-founder of River Aravind Mani told that, they are planning to enter 100 cities over the next two years, and metro cities such as Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Thiruvananthapuram, among others, are at the top of its list.
The Co-founders Mani and Vipin George have already begun accepting reservations for its first vehicle, Indie. Mani did not provide anticipated production and sales figures, as the company is expected to raise the price of the scooter in response to the central government's decision to cut the subsidy per car under its scheme to encourage the use of electric vehicles.
Mani stated that the corporation would make no modifications to the declared model and that the government decision would solely effect the pricing of its automobile. River's first product is Indie, an e-scooter that retails at Rs. 1.38 lakh, lesser than Ather Energy's top variant, the Ather 450 Apex, which starts at Rs. 1.88 lakh.
Chairman of Yamaha Motor Ventures, Jim Aota Hajime told in a press conference that, they are very excited about the conviction that Aravind and Vipin have for River and how Yamaha can support the company to achieve this. Tel Aviv's Maniv Mobility and San Francisco-based Trucks VC have also invested in the company.
The national government lowered the subsidy for electric two-wheelers from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 10,000 per kilowatt hour (kWh). River has a 4kWh battery, which could result in a Rs. 20,000 price rise. River's third round of funding comes after a $ 2 million seed round in March 2021 and a $ 11 million round in July 2022. River is also the sole Indian investment for Al-Futtaim, Toyota Ventures, Trucks VC, and Maniv Mobility.
