Homegrown electric vehicle manufacturer River on Wednesday said it has raised $15 million (Rs 123 crore) in a funding round led by Dubai-based multinational powerhouse Al Futtaim Group, thus marking its first investment in India.
Existing investors Lowercarbon Capital, Toyota Ventures, Maniv Mobility, and Trucks VC also participated in the round.
The fresh funds will be deployed to set up River’s manufacturing and distribution network to accelerate its deliveries which are aimed to start in August 2023.
Bengaluru-based River was founded by Aravind Mani and Vipin George in 2021.
"In 20 months, we launched our first product, the Indie, which has by now covered 100,000 kilometers in testing," commented Mani, co-founder and chief executive officer, River.
The company has cumulatively raised $28 million to date. In 2021, it secured $2 million in a seed round and subsequently in 2022, it raised $11 million in a Series A funding round.
“We evaluated over 50 electric two-wheeler start-ups and liked the team’s vision and commitment to in-house product development,” said Paul Willis, president, Al Futtaim Automotive.
Al Futtaim Group is a Dubai-based conglomerate. It has five operating divisions (automotive, retail, real estate, healthcare, and financial services) and has a presence across 20 countries, with a workforce of 33,000 in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.
The investment marks the second instance where a Middle Eastern conglomerate has invested in a local EV maker. In March, Qatar-based Al-Abdulla Group invested $50 million in Karnataka-based EV maker Kabira Mobility, which intended to use the funding to scale its manufacturing capacity at its Dharwad plant in Karnataka.
Notably, EV makers and electric mobility startups have raised significant funding over the years with Ola Electric, Ather and Euler being at the forefront. In February, EV maker Simple Energy, secured over $20 million in a bridge funding round from a host of investors like Arokiaswamy Velumani (Thyrocare Technologies Ltd), Ashwin Hinduja (Gokaldas Group), Sanjay and Sandeep Wadhawa (Nash Industries) and Purple Moon Ventures amongst others.
A notable trend in the EV space has been the newfound interest of sector-agnostic private equity investors in the sector. Last month, VCCircle reported that Omega Seiki Mobility (OSM) is in talks with a clutch of financial investors to raise around $100 million. Amongst the investors in the running, PE firm KKR, impact investor LeapFrog Investments, amongst others were possibly evaluating the company for investment, one of the people aware of the development told VCCircle.
