RIVER, a Bengaluru-based electric scooter startup, has recently bagged $11 million in funding from US-led investors Toyota ventures and Lowercarbon Capital.
With around 70-80% share of two vehicles, India has become a favourite spot for two-wheeler Ev startups like RIVER. These two-wheelers tend to perfectly accommodate the traffic jams in the world’s most population-density country.
About RIVER
RIVER, a Bengaluru startup founded by two geniuses, Aravind and Vipin, in 2020, this startup carries a motto of Rugged, Reliable and Daring. The company, further defining the motto, states its products built are to take extreme wear and tear.
Varying ranges of maximal road and climate conditions, the product stands all of them without a query, giving an exceptional ride. RIVER states to provide multi-utility two-wheeled vehicle RX-1 on both permanent and subscription basis.
The scooter comes in two different battery-sized based variants that can travel between 100-180 km on a single charge. According to the prototype, the battery accelerated from zero to 40 km/h in less than 4 seconds, further performing a top speed of 80 km/h on a maximum payload of 200 kgs, which is enough for commercial use.
Keeping the Indian middle-class mentality in mind, the company’s core team has stated its launch price to be around 80,000-1,00,000. The founders have conveyed the product to have a personality, as in India, it’s still a status purchase where they have to collect first-class certification from their friends and family.
The cost-cutting strategy of RIVER is different from others, where for charging, they provide franchises rather than building expensive infrastructure. For selling, they have defined the period of mid-2022, when they would sell products to customers through the franchise system and for commercial buying, they would deal directly.
RIVER Founders
Aravind Mani
A Petrochemical geek, Aravind Mani is an Engineer and an MBA graduate in Finance and Strategy Management from the Asian Institute of Management.
Before being a founder of RIVER, he has a job profile of working in Infosys, being the head of the commercial and strategy of Tamilnadu Petroproducts Ltd and further Manali Petrochemical ltd.
He has also been the Vice President of Ultraviolette Automotive, where he led the Corporate Strategies, Business Planning and Fundraising, as cited in his Linkedin Profile.
Vipin George
A former Designer in Honda and Ultraviolette Automotive, Vipin George has designed several prominent bikes and two-wheelers in his career.
The most popular ones include Honda Activa 3G and 5G, Honda X-blade, CX02 and CX01 and Project F77 in Ultraviolette Automotive. His education contains a diploma in Tool and Die making and a Post Graduate from MIT Institute of Design in transportation design.
The starting days of Mr George include interning in Escorts Construction Equipment Ltd and a Graduation Project from JCB India ltd, as cited in his Linkedin Profile.
Recent Funding by Toyota Ventures and LowerCarbon Capital
With the current funding of $11 million, the company has set its usage for a manufacturing unit with investment in RIVER‘s R&D. The founders communicated for raising another $100 million before the product launch. They have also denied launching mass production, initiating seed production first.
From the investors’ side, news agencies have published a statement from Jim Adler, founding managing director of Toyota ventures –
“Two-wheel vehicles as the foundation of transportation in India because of their easy navigation in dense urban environments. RIVER is an opportunity grabber by offering products for commercial and consumer purposes at affordable cost without any subtraction in quality“
Final Opinion
In a world where we listen a day or other about animal killings & glaciers melting all because of our comfort of running vehicles rather than walking, EV is a trend and our only solution.
Like other countries, India is also working on this pathway and assures everyone to be a voyager of this pathway of Electric Vehicles in the upcoming years.
Being an EV startup, RIVER has a bonus of some gold spots when companies like Swiggy, Zomato and other similar delivery-based startups have aimed at EV-Based delivery systems in the future.
Showcasing Investors like MANIV Mobility, Toyota Ventures, LowerCarbon Capital and CapitalTrucks VC, RIVER boosts its brand image in several opportunities like this and constructs its growth flow more instantaneously.
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