EV start-up Oben raises $1.5 mn to launch 100% homegrown electric bike

The one-year-old company says it will deliver its first batch of EVs in next six months

Electric vehicle (EV) start-up Oben has raised $1.5 million in a seed round from We Founder Circle and other investors.

Founded by husband-wife duo, and IIT Kharagpur and IIM Bangalore alumni, Madhumita Agarwal and Dinkar Agarwal, the company is developing electric 2-wheelers in-house with indigenously developed components.  

The EV start-up said its electric bike runs for 200 kilometres on a single charge and clocks a top speed of 100 kmph. The company claims that it is the first to develop an electric bike that is 100 percent made-in-India. Oben plans to utilise the newly raised funds to launch its product in the market, accelerate new product development, and expand experience centres.

“We are very excited to raise the seed round as this fund will help us enter the market with the first completely homegrown and indigenously developed performance motorcycle and deliver our first set of vehicles to the customers in the next 6 months”, said Madhumita Agarwal, Co-founder, Oben EV.

“EV is at the cusp of the early-adopter phase in India – and we all know that the real opportunity will be in electric two-wheelers. Oben EV will be one of those start-ups that will set the right standards for the EV industry to grow in India,” said Gaurav VK Singhvi, co-founder, We Founder Circle.

One-year-old Oben EV said it is gearing up to launch its electric bike in March 2022. The startup plans to launch four new homegrown EV products over the next two years in various segments to become a leader in the E-2 wheeler industry.