Ather Energy, founded in 2013, focused on developing a fully integrated electric scooter platform, emphasizing in-house technology development, user experience, and long-term scalability.
24 Apr 2025 | 611 Views | By Ketan Thakkar & Kiran Murali
In 2013, when Ather Energy was born out of the labs of IIT Madras, the electric two-wheeler market in India was little more than an afterthought. Cheap kits from China dominated the scene, often dressed up with local decals and sold with little to no innovation. But two young engineers ...
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In 2013, when Ather Energy was born out of the labs of IIT Madras, the electric two-wheeler market in India was little more than an afterthought. Cheap kits from China dominated the scene, often dressed up with local decals and sold with little to no innovation. But two young engineers had a radically different vision—not just to build an electric scooter but to reimagine what an electric vehicle should be from scratch.
“A startup getting into automotive is almost a foolish decision,” says Shreyas Seethapathy, Chief of Staff, Engineering at Ather. It’s one of the most challenging industries in the world. But maybe we were too young to know that—or too stubborn to care.”
A Void in Electric Imagination
Ather came out with the 450X, dashboards with navigation, and smart regen braking. “Pre-2018, name one electric scooter you’d want to own,” Seethapathy challenges. “You can’t. That’s because they didn’t exist in any meaningful way.”
India’s EV landscape then was defined by compromise—slow scooters, imported motors, and weak batteries. Nobody was thinking about rider experience, scalability, or software.
“We had to answer questions no one else was asking,” he says. “Where do you put the battery? Should you swap or charge? What does an EV chassis even look like if you start from zero?”
The answers led Ather down a path most wouldn’t take: a full-stack, ground-up product built entirely for India.
From day one, Ather’s belief was clear—control the technology, or stay at the mercy of others.
“You can’t build quality if you’re just buying off-the-shelf parts and hoping they all work together,” Seethapathy says. “We chose to own the code, the design, the experience. Not because it was easy—but because it was necessary.”
That meant designing their own motor controllers, battery management systems, firmware, dashboards—even the cloud infrastructure that powers diagnostics and data analytics. The team didn’t build everything, but they controlled everything that mattered.
“If there’s software inside it, we own it,” he explains. “It’s what lets us update features, drop costs, and scale fast—without asking anyone for permission.”
Ather’s vertical integration philosophy is focused not on manufacturing everything themselves but on owning the blueprint. Like Apple, Ather insists on controlling design and core IP down to the last resistor, even if production is outsourced. Any part of the scooter that contains code, including the motor controller, battery BMS, dashboard, or cloud, is developed in-house.
This obsessive ownership allows Ather to be agile. More than 90 engineering changes are implemented annually, each focused on reducing costs, improving reliability, or enhancing the user experience.
Building Slow, Staying Ahead
When most companies chase speed to market, Ather took the long road. Their first product hit the market in 2018, five years after founding.
Why the delay?
“We weren’t just building a scooter,” Seethapathy says. “We were defining what electric mobility should feel like. That takes time.”
Ather’s slow-burn strategy paid off. When global supply chains collapsed during the 2021 chip shortage, Ather had already diversified its sourcing of key components. When subsidies arrived under FAME-II, Ather’s supply chain was ready to scale. When the market demanded fast charging, Ather already had a public grid.
The team didn’t stop at the basics. They introduced features the industry hadn’t even imagined for scooter reverse assist, traction control, auto-hold on slopes, live location sharing, even WhatsApp notifications on the dashboard.
“Some of these were seen as gimmicks,” Seethapathy admits. “But today, they’re becoming must-haves.”
Take regenerative braking. Most OEMs implement it poorly, with limits above 90% battery charge. Ather went deeper, rerouting braking energy into the motor to ensure it works even at 100%—a detail invisible to most, but critical to riders.
Then came SmartEco, a riding mode that uses software to ensure the promised range is always delivered—by modulating power based on real-time user behavior.
“It’s not just about specs,” he says. “It’s about trust. If you say 80 kilometers, give 80. Every single time.”
This philosophy of trust extends to throttle response, where Ather’s Zero-Line acceleration kicks in within 90 milliseconds—four times faster than a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) scooter. The seamless experience is achieved by owning the motor controller and selecting a belt drive system that eliminates slack.
“Electric vehicles don’t always respond consistently. “We’ve worked hard to eliminate that unpredictability,” Seethapathy says. “It’s about building a machine that feels like an extension of you.”
A Platform, Not Just a Scooter
Today, Ather is more than just a vehicle company. It’s a platform company.
The scooters are internet-connected, firmware-upgradable, and smart enough to log every input.
The public Ather Grid charging network spans cities. And now, with the launch of the Halo smart helmet, Ather is expanding its ecosystem into wearables, featuring wireless charging, intercom capabilities, and auto-pairing with your phone.
“It’s the Apple playbook,” says Seethapathy. “When everything works together, the user simply stays.” That’s how you build loyalty.”
Ather’s strategy wasn’t the quickest or the cheapest. Legacy giants didn’t back it. However, it may well be the one with the most lasting impact.
“In the end,” Seethapathy reflects, “our job isn’t just about building electric scooters.” It’s to build belief—that EVs can be better, smarter, and more reliable than anything that has come before. And for that, there are no shortcuts.