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Ahmedabad-based electric motorcycle startup Matter Motors aims to raise US$200 million (approximately Rs 1,730 crore) in funding over the next years as the automaker plans to roll out new models and expand capacity over the period, according to a senior company official. The startup is also looking for a public issue in the next three to four years.
Established in 2019 by founders Mohal Lalbhai, Arun Pratap Singh, Saran Babu, and Prasad Telikapalli, Matter’s current portfolio centers around its sole electric motorcycle – the Aera. This model, notable for being India’s first electric bike with a 4-speed manual gearbox, is priced at around Rs 1.8 lakh, and is currently retailed in Ahmedabad and Bengaluru.
“We see ourselves doing a few fundraises between now and the next three years, about US$200 million. It is a startup journey in a capital-intensive business. Also, we need funds for expanding our product portfolio as well as for marketing the brand. Also, we now have a pilot plant, and scale-up has to happen,” Lalbhai told Autocar Professional.
So far, Matter has raised a total of around US$75 million through Series B rounds and has a valuation of around US$230 million (approximately Rs 1,990 crore). Some of its investors include Helena, Capital 2B, Japan Airlines & Translink Innovation Fund, LetsVenture, Baring Private Equity Partners and Saad Bahwan Investment Management Company (SB Invest).
“Retail expansion will be the number one focus this year. We are aggressively going to expand our touchpoints to 45 from the current two this year, with a focus on cities like Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Surat, Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Hyderabad and Chennai,” Lalbhai noted.
While the company, which started deliveries in late 2024, would be pushing the sales of the Aera model in the domestic market this year, it is likely to start looking at export markets from next year. The management noted that the company will explore countries in South East Asia, Eastern and Southern Europe, East Africa and Latin America.
Meanwhile, Matter Motors is strategically focusing its product development with no immediate plans to venture into the electric scooter or premium motorcycle segments. Matter currently competes with electric motorcycle makers including Revolt Motors, Oben Electric and Ola Electric with its less than 200cc equivalent motorcycle.
Matter’s focus remains on capitalizing on the considerable market scale offered by the segment equivalent to motorcycles with engines under 200cc. When asked about the number of new products likely to be launched going forward, Lalbhai said: “I would say over the next three years, you would be seeing at least three new models in different segments.”
Though electrification in India is being driven by two-wheelers, the electric motorcycle segment is yet to see significant traction with limited offerings from a few startups. The requirement of longer driving ranges and the complexity of having larger battery packs have been among the major challenges facing this form factor.
Apart from Matter, Ola, Revolt and Ultraviolette, Ather Energy is also gearing up to launch electric motorcycles. The Bengaluru-based startup is working on a platform named Zenith to support new electric motorcycles targeting the 125-300 cc segment users.
Among traditional players, Royal Enfield, with its Flying Flea brand, and Hero MotorCorp, which has a partnership with US-based electric motorcycle maker Zero, are set to enter the electric motorcycle space in 2026. TVS Motor-owned Norton Motorcycles is also expected to launch new electric motorcycles next year.
On the production capacity front, Matter currently manufactures at its pilot facility set up in Ahmedabad. The management noted that the capacity at the pilot factory is low currently, but is being ramped up to a capacity of 1.2 lakh units per year. The company expects to produce around 5,000 motorcycles in a month by mid-next year and will start looking for a new facility then, said Lalbhai.
Matter expects the company to achieve EBITDA breakeven once the monthly volume hits 20,000-30,000 units. The management noted that they will be looking at listing the company’s shares in the public market in the next 3-4 years. “On a very clear path to profitability is something that we internally see as a minimum benchmark [for listing],” Lalbhai added.
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