Electric two-wheeler startup Ultraviolette Automotive Pvt Ltd has raised additional funding from Qualcomm Ventures and Lingotto (formerly Exor Capital) to expand the Series D round, the company announced on Tuesday.
With Lingotto as the lead investor, the undisclosed amount of investment is part of an ongoing Series D round of funding that valued the company at $300 million. With this investment, the fund now joins the cap table along with TVS Motor, Zoho Corporation, GoFrugal Technologies and Speciale Invest.
Lingotto is a fully-owned subsidiary of Exor NV, which has the largest or controlling stakes in companies including sports car maker Ferrari, Stellantis, CNH Industrial, Iveco Group, The Economist Group, Via and the soccer team Juventus.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm Ventures is the venture arm of chipmaker Qualcomm, it primarily invests in companies focused on 5G, artificial intelligence, automotive, IoT, enterprise and cloud, and XR/Metaverse. The venture arm has over 150 portfolio companies in its portfolio and manages over $2 billion in assets across the United States, China, India, Israel, Europe, Latin America, and Korea.
The amount of the fresh investment could not be ascertained. As per regulatory filings in August, Ultraviolette had raised Rs 79 crore (around $10 million) by allotting 2,192 Series D compulsory convertible preference shares and 10 equity shares to Exor Co-Invest Fund I ILP.
The latest fund raised will be deployed towards ramping up the company’s presence in India, subsequent expansion in international markets as well as strengthening the brand’s technological capabilities, Ultraviolette said.
The Bengaluru-based EV maker is currently gearing up to launch the F77 in India, and the Series D round of capital will be used towards expanding its presence across the country, ramping up sales and subsequent expansion in international markets including trials, certifications and sales.
“As we countdown to the commercial launch of the F77 in India, this investment is a testament to the fact that we have been able to create a distinct identity for Ultraviolette and the F77 and build aspiration for the product across global audiences,” said Narayan Subramaniam, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Ultraviolette.
The F77 is a high-performance electric motorcycle, with an acceleration of 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, a top speed of 140 kmph, and a range of 150 km on a single charge.
Ultraviolette F77 will be commercially launched on November 24. The company opened its pre-orders on October 23.
Previously, Ultraviolette has raised around $15 million as part of the Series C round in 2021 and Rs 30 crore ($4.1 million) from TVS Motor Company as part of its Series B funding round. TVS Motor had first acquired a 14.78% stake in the electric bike maker for Rs 5 crore in December 2017. In August 2018, the two-wheeler maker infused Rs 6 crore more into Ultraviolette to raise its stake to 25.76%.
