Pure EV, an e-bike and lithium batteries manufacturer startup, developed at IIT Hyderabad, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from VC Nannapaneni, chairman and managing director of Natco Pharma.
Nannapaneni invested in the company in his personal capacity, in a round that values the start-up at $35 million.
The funding for the start-up comes at a time when it plans to expand its manufacturing capacity and research and development (R&D) initiatives.
“We have been actively building up strategic sales partnerships at state and regional levels in India. Being a battery manufacturing company, we can offer not only the best possible service conditions on lithium ion batteries but also can explore battery swapping solutions being jointly offered with our partners for faster adoption of EVs,” said Rohit Vadera, chief executive officer Pure EV.
They are developing high-speed and long-range scooters and motorcycles, which are scheduled for commercial launch in October 2019 and early 2020, respectively, the company said.
The start-up has also been developing a prototype of HVDC (high-voltage, direct current) electric truck/bus lithium battery modules and intends to showcase them in 2020 for potential collaborations.
A ramp up of its EV manufacturing capacity to 2000 units per month by October 2019 is also on the cards.
Besides, other electric bikes startups includes Yulu, Bounce, Ather Energy, Ather 340, Tork Motorcycles, Emflux, Ultraviolette Automotive, Orxa Energies, etc.