Premium electric vehicle (EV) motorcycle startup Raptee has raised $3 Mn in a Pre-Series A funding round led by VC fund Bluehill Capital.

The all-equity funding round saw participation from Eugene Mayne, founder and CEO of Tristar Global (UAE); Lakshmi Narayanan, former CEO of Cognizant; Ramesh Kannan, managing director of Kaynes Technology; Chandu Nair, director of Shankara Building Products and other HNIs from India and the UAE.

Founded in 2019, Raptee is an electric motorcycle manufacturer that has submitted more than 45 patent applications. The EV startup claims to have introduced a high-voltage drive train technology in India. It includes an integrated on-board charger, making their motorcycles compatible with the rapidly expanding CCS2 public charging network in India and worldwide.

Raptee EV motorcycle is expected to be launched early next year. The startup plans to expand to 100 cities in India and explore a few international markets over the next three years.

The funds will be used to enhance the manufacturing facility, procure machinery and tooling for the upcoming motorcycle launch, and expand the team.

“India is the largest motorcycle market in the world, with EV adoption on the rise. At Raptee, we want to launch a motorcycle in a mid-premium segment for consumers who believe that EVs are a true upgrade from ICE vehicles,” Dinesh Arjun, cofounder and CEO of Raptee, said.

Raptee has established its first manufacturing facility in Chennai, spanning across 3 acres, and it will serve as the primary production hub for the next two years. This site will accommodate the majority of Raptee’s Research and Development team, with an annual production capacity of 100,000 units. The proposed investment for this factory would be INR 80 Cr, the startup said.

EV startups are capturing the keen interest of investors increasingly. EV charging infrastructure provider Bolt.Earth is in talks with investors to raise $20 Mn in its Series B round at a valuation of $100 Mn, Inc42 reported yesterday.

Other EV motorcycle startups in India include Ultraviolette, Hop Electric, Motovolt Mobility, Corrit Electric. Last month, Bengaluru-based Ola Electric also announced four electric bikes, which are scheduled to be launched by the end of 2024. The four bikes include – Ola Cruiser, the Ola Roadster, the Ola Adventure and the Ola DiamondHead.

Despite facing challenges such as fire and safety incidents, a lack of adequate charging infrastructure, and policy revamps, electric vehicle (EV) sales in India have demonstrated continued growth since 2020. According to Vahan data, the country has experienced a substantial 700% increase in the number of electric vehicle registrations since that year.