[Funding alert] EV platform Altigreen raises Rs 300 crore in funding from Sixth Sense Ventures, others

Commercial EV manufacturer Altigreen has raised Rs 300 crore ($ 40 million) in funding round led by Sixth Sense Ventures, along with Reliance New Energy (owned subsidiary of RIL), Xponentia Capital, Accurant International, USA and Momentum Venture Capital, Singapore.

EV platform Altigreen was founded by Amitabh Saran, Lasse Mocklegaard, Shailendra Gupta and John Bangura in 2012. Altigreen said this is the largest round made in the last mile transportation segment at this stage of financing by VCs.

The company will utilise the resources to boost manufacturing capacity, launch new products including light commercial vehicles and strengthen the company’s presence across the country.

“If you look at the last mile delivery segment, the requirements are best suited to what electric vehicles have to offer. These vehicles – be it two-wheelers, three-wheelers or small four-wheeler commercial vehicles – have a consistent daily driving range, fixed load carrying capacity. Electric vehicles are not only cleaner, the operating economics are far superior when compared with fossil-fuel driven ones. We see massive potential for growth in the electric commercial vehicle segment and will focus on the space.” Amitabh Saran, cofounder, Altigreen, said.

Altigreen is a leader in Electric Vehicle (EV) technology and solutions for Last Mile Transportation (LMT) through 2, 3 and 4 wheeled vehicles for commercial use.

“The investment is part of our company’s strategic intent of collaborating with innovative companies in new energy and new mobility ecosystems,” RIL said.

On the product side, the target is to have 3-5 vehicles in its portfolio in the next 2-3 years. “A good part of the investment will be in R&D. We have on-board investors who are also bringing their expertise to the table. For one, Reliance New Energy is investing heavily in non li-ion batteries and we get access to those technologies”, said Saran.

Altigreen’s technology is specifically designed for Indian environmental and commercial conditions. Their technology results in EVs that compete in price and performance with Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles.

“Altigreen fits perfectly well into the Sixth Sense philosophy of backing first-generation founders, disrupting large categories ($7bn+ of last-mile logistics opportunity) for the consumer of tomorrow (EVs emerging as the future of mobility). Further, we draw comfort with Altigreen’s primary focus on the 3W segment within the EV space – which fundamentally is less cluttered and under-penetrated, as well as benefits multiple stakeholders in the value chain (from ecommerce players to consumers).” Nikhil Vora, Founder & CEO of Sixth Sense said.

Based in Bangalore (India), the Company’s patent portfolio spans over 60 countries with 24 patents granted, including 6 in the US. Global awards received by Altigreen include those from WorldWide Fund for Nature, Niti Aayog, ARAI, Economic Times, Elecrama, IoTNext, IDTechEx and more.