Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal on Tuesday set aside rivalry to congratulate Ather Energy and its CEO Tarun Mehta as the electric two-wheeler maker made its stock market debut. With this, Ather Energy became only the second Indian EV startup to go public, following Ola Electric's Rs 6,145-crore IPO last year.
"Congrats to Tarun Mehta and the whole Ather Energy team on this milestone for the Indian EV industry! Let's together make India the global EV hub," Mr Aggarwal posted on X.
The rare show of camaraderie between competitors drew praise online. "EV journey was always supposed to be a collaborative effort. Good to see Ola Electric and Bhavish Aggarwal praising Ather Energy on their listing day," one user wrote. Another added, "More players, more energy! Great to see Ola setting the pace and @atherenergy jumping in!"
The third user wrote, "Ola kicked things off, and it's awesome to see more players join the ride!"
Ather's IPO marks the first mainboard public issue of the current financial year. The offer included a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 2,626 crore and an offer-for-sale of 1.1 crore shares by promoters and investors.
Celebrating the milestone, Ather CEO Tarun Mehta called it a "big, big day" for the company. "An IPO isn't just a celebration. It is a test-of your business, your team, your vision," he wrote on X, adding that Ather is ready for the challenge.
Starting as an engineering project, Ather has grown into a pan-India brand, said Mr Mehta. "We've built the engine: product, service, manufacturing, and supply chain. Now, it's time to scale," he added, promising shareholders "a fulfilling and value-accretive journey ahead."
