Matter raises $25M growth round to scale electric motorcycle production in India
What's the deal? Matter, the Indian maker of the AERA electric motorcycle, has raised $25 million (₹250 crore) in a growth equity round, founder and group chief executive officer Mohal Lalbhai told businessline . The round takes the company's total capital raised past ₹1,000 crore.
Why now? The funding marks Matter's shift from pilot production to commercial scale. It began manufacturing in October 2024 and has since produced about 1,500 to 1,600 vehicles.
What's the endgame? Most earlier capital went into research and manufacturing; this round targets growth. "This ₹250 crore is going predominantly in growth—distribution, capacity expansion and product portfolio expansion," Lalbhai said.
The company is unlocking capacity of nearly 1,000 vehicles a month, up from 100 to 200 during the pilot phase, and plans to reach 5,000 a month by the end of the financial year.
Where it's expanding: Matter is widening its retail footprint from 30 dealerships across 21 cities to nearly 50 by year-end, adding roughly 100 more touchpoints next calendar year. It is focusing on western and southern India, where it sees faster electric vehicle adoption.
Four motorcycles are planned on the AERA platform, targeting the 150-200cc segment and priced between ₹1.6 lakh and ₹2.2 lakh.
What could go wrong? Electric motorcycle penetration in India sits near 0.1%, compared with roughly 25% for scooters. Matter also competes directly with petrol bikes; "It's an EV versus ICE conversation," Lalbhai said. Cells, magnets, and semiconductor components remain imported, leaving the company exposed to supply chains it does not control.
The signal: Matter is betting that the sparse electric motorcycle market is an opening rather than a limit. With 111 patents granted out of 450 filed and a charging connector shared with Ather, its scale-up will test whether a domestic entrant can convert an under-served segment into demand.
Read more: thehindubusinessline.com
Image credit: MSVG
