Bangalore-based EV maker Simple Energy on Wednesday said it has raised USD 21 million (around Rs 156 crore) in a funding round. The aim was to raise USD 15 million in fundraising, but immense investor interest resulted in the company mopping up more capital in the pre-series investment round, Simple Energy said in a statement.
The over-subscribed funding round was driven by the company’s current investors and board members, Manish Bharti of UiPath and Raghunath Subramanian, Non-executive Chairman, UiPath India, respectively. This round also witnessed participation from new investors such as Sattva Group, Athiyas Group and several high net-worth individuals (HNIs), it said.
This fresh capital will be utilised to increase manufacturing capacity, accelerate new product development, and expand experience centres, consequently bolstering the company’s expansion plans, the company stated. “The pre-series round will not only help us broaden our product offerings but it will also speed up the production process,” said Suhas Rajkumar, Founder-CEO, Simple Energy.
Noting that electric vehicles are here to stay, and Simple Energy is leading its way in revolutionising the domestic automobile industry, he said, the continuous support received from the existing and new investors reflects their belief and confidence in the brand and the sector. Founded in 2019, Simple Energy launched its flagship electric scooter, Simple One, on August 15, this year.
“I believe in supporting clean-energy startups like Simple Energy that will create a positive impact on many aspects – like mass mobility, clean environment and overall conservation of ecosystem. What we need today is the smooth shift to EV. Simple Energy will undoubtedly lead the automobile industry to support the EV push to sustainable mobility,” said Bharti. Commenting on his investment in the EV firm, Subramanian said, Simple Energy has tremendous potential and will spearhead innovation in the industry.
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