Ather Energy plans to invest ₹750 crore in research and development to ramp up its in-house software capabilities and gain strategic advantage in the hyper-competitive domestic electric scooters market.
The electric two wheeler company has invested heavily on building a software ecosystem to not only add value in terms of performance and features, but also become a significant revenue stream in the long run.
In fact, software sales contributed 6 per cent of its total revenue in fiscal 2023-24, with an EBITDA margin of 56 per cent, as per the company’s draft red herring prospectus.
The company said that nearly 9 out of its 10 customers have bought its advanced Atherstack features and over 60 per cent of its customers engaged with connected software features at least once a week.
Though contemporary ICE vehicles are also loaded with software to manage important functions, EVs have a much larger dependence on software, making it critical for safety, performance and customer delight.
New version
Atherstack 6.0 offers 64 features related to navigation, analytics, ride assistance, safety, and productivity. Released earlier this year, the new version came with an improved mobile app and with new features like directly integrating WhatsApp on the Ather dashboard, live location sharing capabilities, ‘Ping my scooter’ functionality, automatic call response, and integration with Amazon’s Alexa.
Further, features such as the SkidControl, Emergency Stop Signal and Fall Safe are good examples of how software-based smart systems provide real-time safety interventions for riders.
The larger software ecosystem also includes the ability to collect, analyse and interpret vital data in real-time to continuously improve performance and safety.
“By analysing data from the Ather app, E2Ws, charging infrastructure, and other sources, we can continually refine our products and services. We have created virtual drive cycles based on customer data to improve range prediction,” said the company’s DRHP.
The same data is also used for offering personalised customer experience such as Trip Planner, which helps customers plan their commutes and charging requirements based on their driving habits, it said.