Ultraviolette raises $85mn to scale up production

Bengaluru: Electric two-wheeler maker Ultraviolette has raised $85 million in a round led by Yali Capital and TDK Ventures as it prepares to scale production for its first scooter and expand overseas. Intel chief executive Lip-Bu Tan also invested in the Bengaluru-based company and will join it as an adviser, Ultraviolette said on Wednesday.The funding follows Ultraviolette’s plan for a Rs 779-crore factory in Tamil Nadu. The plant is designed for an annual capacity of 2.5 lakh vehicles initially, with room to expand to 5 lakh as demand grows. Co-founder Niraj Rajmohan told TOI earlier this month that the factory was expected to go live in six to eight months, with full-scale production planned for July-September 2027.A key test will be the Tesseract, which takes Ultraviolette beyond its performance-focused electric motorcycles and into scooters. The company had received more than 70,000 paid bookings for the scooter earlier this month, Rajmohan said. It must now build the capacity to deliver those orders.Ultraviolette said the fresh funds would help increase production of its F77 and X-47 motorcycles, prepare for the Tesseract and Shockwave launches, and develop future electric vehicle platforms. It also plans to enter the US in 2027 and expand in Latin America and Southeast Asia. The company said it currently sells in India and 20 European countries.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.