Indian electric vehicle startup River on Wednesday said it had raised $120 million to scale manufacturing for its next phase of growth.
The Series C round was led by Indian investors Elev8 Venture Partners and Claypond Capital, with participation from Singularity AMC, Anicut Capital, 360 ONE Asset, JIF Capital, and HDFC AMC, alongside existing backers Yamaha Motor, Al-Futtaim Group, and Mitsui.
Less than 10% to 12% of the round comprised venture debt, and the equity funding raised was entirely primary capital, with no secondary share sales, founder and CEO Aravind Mani (pictured above, right) told TechCrunch. The round brings River’s total capital raised to $144 million.
Founded in 2021, River is among a bunch of startups in India’s rapidly expanding electric two-wheeler market, competing with newer entrants such as Ather Energy and Ola Electric as well as legacy manufacturers Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor. This market has so far been the biggest source of EV adoption in India.
Unlike most of its rivals, River has built its business around a single electric moped model, dubbed Indie, which it launched in 2023. The startup says it now sells about 6,000 vehicles a month through more than 75 stores across India, and has so far sold more than 50,000 units.
River has sought to pitch the Indie as a utility-focused vehicle instead of competing across multiple consumer segments, Mani said, adding that the startup’s biggest achievement over the past year had been learning how to scale manufacturing.
“There was a point in time when we were making 20 vehicles a day. Today we make 300 vehicles a day, and that scale-up has not been easy. This is the steepest learning curve for any company out there,” he said.
The ₹155,000 ($1,630) Indie offers a claimed range of about 99 miles, as well as optional accessories. Mani said the startup’s typical customers are self-employed people aged between 28 and 35.
Driven by rising sales of the Indie, River’s revenue increased by 330% in the fiscal year ended March 2026, while monthly revenue reached about ₹1 billion (around $11 million), Mani said.
River expects to become operationally profitable once monthly production reaches 20,000 to 25,000 vehicles, which Mani said the startup aims to achieve by 2028–29. Gross margins, currently approaching double digits, should improve as production scales, he said.
While the single-model focus has helped River gain traction, it plans to introduce two more models from next year.
“The restriction is the capacity. I don’t have capacity to do one more model today in my current factory,” Mani said.
River is nearing capacity at its first manufacturing facility on the outskirts of Bengaluru, which can now produce about 10,000 vehicles a month following recent upgrades, and the startup expects to fully utilize the plant by early next year, he added.
Construction on a new facility is expected to begin within the next two months once the location is finalized, Mani said. The first phase is slated to be commissioned by mid-2027, and is expected to have an annual production capacity of about 700,000 to 800,000 vehicles.
The startup also plans to expand its retail footprint to more than 200 stores by March 2027, and grow that to about 400 outlets by March 2028.
The new round, Mani said, marked a shift in what investors were backing. Earlier financings supported product development and technology, and the new investors are betting on the startup’s ability to scale now that it has demonstrated traction.
He added that while Silicon Valley investors had long recognized India’s EV opportunity, many underestimated how local consumers would adopt electric two-wheelers. “They understand macroeconomics. What they don’t understand is the customer behavior,” Mani said.
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