Ather Energy On A Higher Orbit

With the Indian government setting its priority towards start-ups and innovative methods to create new and efficient products, Ather Energy a small start-up company that took root in Bangalore has been getting a lot of attention in the recent days.



The company is said to be developing a 'smart' electric scooter and has been in the making for quite some time but was yet to strike gold due to lack of investment. However, Ather Energy, founded by two IIT – graduates Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain, have finally found what they just wanted. Tiger Global Management, a prominent investor in the Indian start-ups has decided that it would invest a staggering $12 million in the company. The new investment comes after initial investments made by the e-trade leader in India, Flipkart and an investor from Medall Healthcare. With fresh monetary investments being made, Ather Energy will be able to manufacture, conduct tests and launch its own, state-of-the-art scooter, the Ather S340.



The scooter could come with a 'smart' tag thanks to its innovative android based dashboard that gives the rider information from Navigation and scooter characteristics incorporated within a friendly UI. The batteries are lithium-ion and in a bid to bring the best of technology there is, Ather has implemented the fast charging of the battery pack, with a charge time of under one hour as claimed by Ather. The control unit monitors vehicle usage and can automatically customize vehicle parameters according to the rider's characteristics. An aluminium chassis will act as the skeleton of the scooter and the light battery pack adds to the performance of the scooter in traffic.



A top speed of 75 km/h can be achieved by the scooter and the company claims a 0 – 60 time of only 11s. Since the scooter will be digitally mated to an Android platform, it can be easily traced even when it is stolen. The company claims that the scooter can easily do 50,000 km in its life-span. Test rides have been planned at various cities, starting with Delhi by October of this year and plans to launch the scooter by 2016. Tiger Global Management is highly hopeful of the company and its product and feels that this scooter could spark off a new revolution in our riding habits. The Ather team is equally excited by the interest shown by investors around the world and is keen on bringing more to the people.