This time, SoftBank turned his sights on India.
Author | XinhanLucknow Wealth Management
This time, SoftBank turned his sights on India.
In this ancient and vibrant land in India, as Ola Electric is listed on the local market, this company led by continuous entrepreneur Bhavish Aggarwal has created history.
Ola Electric has successfully landed in the stock market with amazing market value of 4.8 billion US dollars (about 3.4.2 billion yuan), becoming the largest IPO of the year.
And all of this is inseparable from the founder of the founder, known as "India Musk", Bhavish Aggarwal, and the powerful supporter behind him -Softbank.
Among them, as the behind -the -scenes push of this feast, SoftBank provided solid support for the rise of Ola Electric.
The "Unicorn" halo under the blessing of SoftBank
The choice of SoftBank is never accidental.
Sun Zhengyi, an investor who is almost obsessed with unicorn companies, has made SoftBank Group into a "unicorn hunter" with its poisonous vision and generous shot.
His investment strategy is often regarded as an adventure, but he can often discover the next popularity.Especially in Alibaba’s investment, the World War I was famous, making him a lot of money.
Since its establishment in 1981, SoftBank has invested countless investments worldwide. From Alibaba in Asia to Uber in the United States, to British ARM Holdings, there are many fields such as e -commerce, sharing economy, and new energy.
In the latest global unicorn list, SoftBank ranked second in the world with the amazing achievements of 169 unicorn.
Sun Zhengyi believes that true innovation is often accompanied by risks, and Ola Electric is the next popular in his eyes.
In 2019, Ola Electric received a $ 250 million investment in SoftBank and successfully ranked among the unicorn.This move has completely broken the outside world’s doubts about OLAELECTRIC attempting to limit SoftBank’s additional financing.
Since then, Ola Electric’s IPO road has also become unusually smooth due to the blessing of SoftBank.
Today, this gorgeous listing has not only pushed Ola Electric to the spotlight of the Indian capital market, but also became the most dazzling star of the year with a market value of 4.8 billion US dollars (about 3.4.2 billion yuan).
This achievement is undoubtedly affirming the effort of Aggarwal and its team, and it is also another victory of SoftBank’s investment strategy.
Investment is never a simple gambling. Every time SoftBank’s shot is a thoughtful decision.SoftBank’s investment logic is simple and direct.They are looking at Ola Electric’s low -cost strategy and technological innovation. These two major weapons have made Ola Electric take advantage of the fierce market competition.
Sun Zhengyi believes that through vertical integration and supply chain, Ola Electric can reduce costs, improve efficiency, and ultimately achieve profitability.
SoftBank has become the largest shareholder of Ola Electric. In the outside world, this move is undoubtedly an endorsement of the company.But at the same time, SoftBank’s investment strategy has also triggered a wide range of controversy in the market.
Although SoftBank has achieved remarkable achievements in the global science and technology field with its bold investment strategy, the failure cases of WeWork and Uber have made the market questioning the SoftBank’s "golden hand".Simla Wealth Management
In this context, Ola Electric’s listing is not only a new test of SoftBank’s investment strategy, but also a challenge to whether it can break the "curse" and become the next Alibaba.
The founder is hailed as "Indian Musk"
Aggarwal is known as the "Musk" of India.
His outspoken and bold innovation are similar to Elon Musk, often active in social media and blogs.This personality characteristics have made him famous in India and become a star figure in the science and technology industry.
From graduating from Indian Polytechnic Mencius, to the experience of the Microsoft India Research Institute, to the founding Ola Cabs, and promoting the glorious listing of Ola Electric, every step of Aggarwal’s taking seems to indicate that he will become the leader of the Indian science and technology industry.
As a continuous entrepreneur, Aggarwal’s journey began in 2010. At that time, he founded OLA CABS. This taxi application quickly became a hit in the Indian market and quickly became the leader of shared travel.Ahmedabad Investment
Ola Cabs is headquartered in Bandol, providing vehicle leasing and food distribution services, and expanded to Australia and New Zealand in 2018. In March 2019, it expanded its business to Britain.
In February 2019, Aggarwal made a bold decision to split Ola Cabs’s electric vehicle business into Ola Electric Mobility.
This move not only shows his firm obsession with electric travel in the future, but also allows him to stand at the forefront of the new energy revolution.
But how can there be a smooth sail on the roadNew Delhi Wealth Management?Shortly after Ola Electric launched an electric two -wheeled vehicle, it encountered a battery fire incident, causing more than 1,400 electric two -wheeled vehicles to be recalled.
Faced with such a challenge, Aggarwal did not shrink back, but regarded this as an opportunity to grow.Under the blessing of Sequoia Capital and SoftBank, Ola Electric not only survived the difficulty, but also became a unicorn company with a valuation of $ 1 billion.
Such achievements are already the peak for many people, but for Aggarwal, this is just a starting point in his grand blueprint.Aggarwal’s business ambitions have not stopped, and his ambitions are not only there.
He founded KRUTRIM in 2023, a start -ups focusing on the field of artificial intelligence, and soon became India’s first AI startup with a market value of $ 1 billion.
In addition, as an angel investor, he participated in the investment of the Tea Chain Store Chaayos and the news platform Yourstory, which further expanded his business empire.
On March 25, 2024, in the "2024 Hurun Global Rich List" released by the Hurun Research Institute, Aggarwal ranked 2573 on the list with a wealth of 9.5 billion yuan.
Despite personal honor, Ola Electric led by Aggarwal still faces many challenges in the Indian electric vehicle market competition.
This market is no longer a blue ocean, but is full of competitive pressures from old car companies such as Hero Motocorp, Bajaj Auto, as well as the fierce competition of emerging companies such as Ather Energy and TVS Motor.
In such a market environment, can Bhavish Aggarwal overcome many difficulties and copy Musk’s myth and become a real "Indian Musk"?It will be a severe test of his leadership and strategic layout.
Loss of $ 189 million
Although the market value is considerable, the profitability is worrying.
This is the questioning of many investors when looking at Ola Electric.
In fact, since its investment in 2019, the significant growth of Ola Electric’s sales is indeed noticeable, but losses for three consecutive years cannot be ignored.
In the fiscal year of 2024, Ola Electric revenue was 52.4327 billion rupees, which was about $ 630 million, an increase of 90%year -on -year.This leap -up growth undoubtedly proves the attractiveness and expansion capabilities of Ola Electric in the market.
But in stark comparison, the company also reported 15.84 billion Indian rupees (about 189 million US dollars).This number can’t help but think about: Is this a growing company, or is it a giant beast that is burning money?
Although Ola Electric occupies a leading position in the electric two -wheeled car market, its product combination is rich, covering high -end and public markets, in the past two years, Ola Electric’s free cash outflows of Rs.Company’s cash reserves.Moreover, the operating cost of high -ended operations leads to the company’s EBITDA losses up to 25%,
In addition, the company’s warranty reserve accounted for 5.9%of sales, which is higher than competitors, which not only increases the company’s financial burden, but also reflects the market’s concerns about its product quality.
Compared with the domestic Mavericks, Ola Electric’s revenue is almost twice the latter, but the amount of losses is also more significant.
Mavericks’ revenue in 2023 was 2.65 billion yuan, about 373 million US dollars, and a net loss of 271.8 million yuan.This comparison can not help but ask people to question the profit model and cost control of Ola Electric.
But Bhavish Aggarwal, the entrepreneur known as "Indian Musk", has different opinions.He firmly believes that Ola Electric’s focus is to achieve profitable growth and depict investors a long -term profit road.
His self -confidence originated from an important strategy of Ola Electric -homemade battery.By creating batteries for its own pedal car, Ola Electric is expected to reduce costs and increase price competitiveness. The goal is to achieve commercial production of batteries in early 2025.
In the high -speed development industry of electric vehicles, many companies will experience a period of "burning money" in the early days.
They need to invest a lot of funds to develop new technologies, expand production scale, establish brand awareness, etc.These investment may lead to losses in the short term, but in the long run, it is to lay a solid foundation and prepare for future profit.
Secondly, Ola Electric’s sales achieved 50 billion Indian rupees in fiscal 2024, an increase of 90%year -on -year.
This growth rate is amazing, indicating that the market has high demand for OLA Electric’s products.As long as you can maintain this growth momentum and gradually improve operating efficiency and control costs, then turn losses into profit is only a matter of time.
As for how to make profit in Ola Electric in the future?Do you continue to burn money expansion or find a new profit model?This is a question that needs to be thoughtful.
New Delhi Stock Exchange
