Yamaha Motor Co leads $40 million in e-scooter startup River

Electric scooter startup River on Tuesday announced it has raised USD 40 million (Rs 335 crore) in Series B funding led by Japan's Yamaha Motor Co, Ltd. The funds will be utilised for scaling up the distribution and service network, among others."The investment is a significant boost for our plan to build a billion-dollar global utility lifestyle brand by 2030. We have built a great base in R&D and manufacturing over the last two years and now, it's time to grow.”, said Aravind Mani, Co-founder and CEO of River.

The company entered the domestic EV market with its first e-scooter, Indie, in October last year, and in January it opened its first River store in Bengaluru. The Series B funding round also saw participation from existing investors Al-Futtaim Automotive, Lowercarbon Capital, Toyota Ventures and Maniv Mobility, River said. With the latest capital infusion, the total funding secured by the company since its inception in March 2021 stands at USD 68 million (Rs 565 crores), according to River.

With this funding, the company plans to scale the distribution and service network across the country and invest further in R&D for future lineup of products.“The collaboration with Yamaha will help us leverage the design and technology capability that we have built at River.”, said Vipin George, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, River. The company said its maiden e-scooter, Indie, has been fully designed and developed at its R&D facility in Bengaluru and manufactured at its Hoskote manufacturing facility on the outskirts of Bengaluru.