Growing pollution levels has shown adverse effects in global climatic conditions. India being known for sheltering great minds, has given birth to the Ather electric scooter developed at IIT Madras. Ather has finally come to be a reality owing to two individual efforts namely - Swapnil Jain and Tarun Jain who dreamt of having a high speed electric two wheeler in India. Currently, Ather has team strength of about 15 engineers and designers.
The company has received its first round of funding by V Srinivas, founder of Aerospike, and Technology Development Board of the government of India. A second round of funding also included investments from Raju Venkatraman, CEO of Medall and serial entrepreneur. This time around, Flipkart founders Binny and Sachin Bansal have reportedly invested about 6.1 crores INR in the company. Speaking more on the occasion, Tarun Mehta said, “We are very excited about this fresh round of funding. Sachin and Binny Bansal are leaders who have put India's e-commerce industry on the global map through disruptive use of technology. Their focus on technology and reinvention aligns with that of Ather.”
It is said that Ather weighs about 20% lesser than current petrol versions in the country as it reportedly utilizes a battery that weighs a mere 15 Kilograms. Moreover, it is said that the battery is capable of charging itself at about eight times faster than a regular battery. About 80% of the charging is said to be done in the first hour itself. Speaking on its potential, the scooter is capable of attaining speeds of up to 60 kmph from a standstill in just about 11 seconds. Furthermore, the instrument cluster is powered by Android.
