Re: Rumour: JLR to build an all electric car in Austria Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, has invested an undisclosed amount in Ampere, a Coimbatore-based electric vehicle start-up founded by a woman entrepreneur.
Mr. Tata made the investment along with Ampere’s existing investor, Forum Synergies. The start-up, founded by software engineer Hemalatha Annamalai, will use the funds to scale up operations and hire talent over two years.
Ampere is the first automobile start-up investment for Mr. Tata, who conceived Nano, one of the world’s cheapest cars. In the last one year, he has invested in a slew of consumer Internet companies such as Ola, Snapdeal, Paytm, and Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi.
Ms. Annamalai, alumnus of the Government College of Technology, Coimbatore, and Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia, pooled in personal savings to kick-start the venture in 2008. Ampere now sells electric vehicles across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra. Its products range from electric cycles and scooters to trolleys and special purpose vehicles for the differently-abled. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper...cle7396817.ece |