Simple Energy Targets 12K Monthly Production, 150 Outlets by March 2027

Three months after raising ₹250 crore in a mixed debt-equity Series B round, Bengaluru-based electric two-wheeler (E2W) manufacturer Simple Energy has now raised ₹1,750 crore in its Series C funding round, led by the Dr Arokiaswamy Velumani Family Office.

The round also saw participation from the Haran Family Office and angel investor Amit Mishra. Simple Energy founder and CEO Suhas Rajkumar and co-founder and CFO Ankit Gupta also participated in the equity round.

With the latest fundraise, the startup’s total equity funding has reached ₹2,530 crore, making the Series C its largest funding round to date.

The fresh capital will be deployed towards marketing, supply chain, R&D and hiring, while supporting the company’s next phase of expansion. Among its key priorities are setting up a new manufacturing facility, ramping up production, expanding its distribution and service network, and developing its next generation of products.

Founded in 2019 by Suhas Rajkumar alongside co-founders Shreshth Mishra and Ankit Gupta, the company currently sells three electric scooters - Simple One, Simple Ultra and Simple Wave.

Last month, the Bengaluru-based EV maker launched the Simple Wave, a family-oriented electric scooter starting at ₹1.10 lakh (ex-showroom), as it looked to move beyond its high-performance Simple One and tap a wider mass-market audience, following a broader shift among EV two-wheeler startups towards family and utility scooters, exemplified by Ather’s Rizta and River’s Indie. 

The launch comes as Simple Energy looks to scale manufacturing, widen its retail footprint and move towards profitability while competing for a larger share of India’s growing electric two-wheeler market.

Below are excerpts from an interview with Simple Energy co-founder Shreshth Mishra, conducted last month:

Why move into the family-scooter segment?

The scooter segment is growing, and 75% to 80% of the overall market is still made up of family scooters. So when the market is growing, it's not about competition; it's about being in the right place with what we believe.

The kind of demand we've seen for our new product, especially from our dealer partners when we were planning it, motivated us to push ahead with the Simple Wave.

Demand is increasing for electric vehicles across two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers. In the Indian two-wheeler segment, even the biggest player has only about 10% market share, leaving 90% of the market open. At the same time, electric two-wheelers account for only around 12% to 13% of the overall two-wheeler market.

With Simple One, we brought performance and range together in one product. With Simple Wave, we are following the same approach — maximising the value we offer customers.

As the market grows, we will be able to cater to a larger audience. We are continuously working on new products and ramping up manufacturing so that we can reach more people.

How are you scaling manufacturing to meet this demand?

Currently, our actual production is around 2,500 vehicles per month.Our existing facility has the potential to scale to almost 3 lakh vehicles a year, and we are now ramping up supplier capacity to support that. 

By the end of this financial year, we're looking at up to 12,000 vehicles per month capacity so that we can cater to the demand that is coming today. The demand is almost 2X of what we are able to supply.

Till date, we have sold close to 20,000 vehicles. Around 80% of our sales have been Simple One, while Simple Ultra has seen the lowest adoption.

We are ramping up from September onwards, which you will see the numbers increasing. And by the end of this financial year, it will be almost 4X of what we are today.

How will you use the capital raised earlier this year?

The capital that we raised would help us. Probably we have already invested a good amount of capital to increase our capacity, mainly to do with the ramp-up of our production and increasing our sales and service footprint across the country.

By this financial year-end, you'll be looking at around 150 stores being live across India. 

When do you expect to become profitable?

Bottom line, we are negative right now. But revenue has grown multifold in FY26 to around 170 crore from 40 crore a year ago, as we have opened more dealerships. At the same time, we are looking at self-sustainability, so profitability has to go hand in hand with scaling.

Simple Wave will play an important role in that. We will continue to improve our margins while ramping up volumes.

It would be difficult for me to put in an exact number, but I would say next financial year (FY28) is something that we would be entering as a profitable company, as our roadmap suggests. 

The last six months have been challenging, with input costs rising significantly. Aluminium prices, for example, have gone up 80%.

These challenges could push our plans slightly, but as an engineering company, we focus on solving them through engineering rather than just taking a financial approach. That is a continuous process, and you will see more technological developments from us going forward.

How important are state EV policies to your expansion?

We are expanding across the country. We already have two stores in Delhi, for example, and the government's push towards electrification will benefit not just us but the entire industry.

For customers, price ultimately matters. Policies that reduce the total cost of ownership can help drive EV adoption, and that benefits all players.

We are looking to expand into as many territories as possible, provided we find the right partners. Delhi is one example, where our stores are doing well.

With Wave coming into the picture, we believe it can further drive penetration, particularly in the north and central parts of the country, which are more price-sensitive.

Simple Energy has attracted family offices rather than traditional VCs. Why?

The VCs would be better placed to answer why they have not invested. We have spoken to multiple VCs and remain open to discussions.

Ultimately, it comes down to whether an investor aligns with our vision and can add value to the organisation. That is the most important consideration for us.

When we started, for example, we said we wanted to build a scooter with a 200-kilometre range, and people questioned whether there was demand for it. Today, range is one of the biggest conversations in the market.

So it really comes down to the investment thesis of a particular fund or investor. We are open to anyone who aligns with our vision and the growth we want to achieve.

Are you planning to build your own charging infrastructure?

Not at this stage. If every EV company sets up its own charging network, the existing infrastructure and investment in the ecosystem may not be fully utilised.

Instead, we are tying up with charging operators so that customers can use the infrastructure that already exists.

It is similar to petrol pumps — you use the existing network rather than building your own from scratch.

That is why we have partnered with Bolt and are exploring discussions with more charging operators. The idea is to create a larger ecosystem where customers, charging operators and manufacturers all benefit.

Higher utilisation also gives charging operators more incentive to invest further in the network.