Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

UAE firm leads $15m funding for Indian EV startup River

By Pramod Kumar
Al-Futtaim Automotive
Al-Futtaim Automotive believes the Indian EV sector is skyrocketing, with Rive becoming the mainstream electric solution

Dubai-based Al-Futtaim Automotive has led the $15 million investment round in the Indian electric two-wheeler startup River. 

The funding series will bolster River’s manufacturing and distribution networks for an August 2023 delivery kick-off in India, enabling the company to rapidly scale internationally.  

Paul Willis, president of Al-Futtaim Automotive, said the investment comes after the company evaluated over 50 electric two-wheeler startups.  

River launched its first product, ‘Indie,’ an urban electric scooter, last February.  

Al-Futtaim Automotive, which focuses on green mobility, recently launched Al-Futtaim Electric Mobility Company – the region’s first electric mobility-focused company.

The Dubai-based company wants to develop the electric ecosystem in the country, with a strong portfolio of EV brands covering the full spectrum of mobility mix, charging solutions and innovative financial products.

Aravind Mani, co-founder and CEO of Bengaluru-based River, said: “In just 20 months, we launched our first product, the Indie, which has by now successfully covered over 100,000 km in testing. Now we’ve set the base to build a billion-dollar business.”

Founded in March 2021, River is backed by marquee investors such as Chris Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital, Toyota Ventures, Maniv Mobility, and Trucks VC. 

The startup has secured $28 million in funding over the last 2.5 years and has invested over $12 million in product development with a research and development facility and a manufacturing facility in Hoskote, Karnataka.

Al-Futtaim Automotive is one of five divisions within the Al-Futtaim Group, a conglomerate of motoring-related businesses.

Operating in 10 countries across the Middle East, Asia and Africa, the group’s services span the distribution of new and used vehicles, manufacturing, leasing, and aftersales.

Register now: It’s easy and free

AGBI registered members can access even more of our unique analysis and perspective on business and economics in the Middle East.

Why sign uP

  • Exclusive weekly email from our editor-in-chief
  • Personalised weekly emails for your preferred industry sectors
  • Read and download our insight packed white papers
  • Access to our mobile app
  • Prioritised access to live events
Register for free

I’ll register later

Latest articles

An offshore oil rig docked in Bahrain. The kingdom remains the Gulf's smallest oil producer

Bahrain’s current account surplus shrinks on high debt servicing

Bahrain’s current account surplus narrowed last year on the back of lower oil revenue and higher external debt servicing, a ministry of finance report shows. The update may add to concerns around Bahrain’s fiscal challenges. A country’s current account balance is a record of its transactions with the rest of the world. Bahrain, the Gulf’s […]

People walk through Muscat, Oman. Domestic demand for Omani sovereign debt is high as alternative investment options are limited treasury bills

Oman’s $83m treasury bonds snapped up by investors

Yield hungry investors have snapped up OR32 million ($83 million) in short-term Omani treasury bills. The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) auctioned the six-month T-bills on Wednesday offering a coupon of 5 percent. The CBO said the offer was oversubscribed by more than 10 times.  Analysts said the rates on offer through the treasury bills […]

Adnoc Drilling and China’s Honghua Group partner as Adnoc expands Zakum offshore development with new rig contract

Adnoc awards rig contract to expand Zakum operations

State-backed Adnoc is expanding operations at the offshore Zakum development project after one of its subsidiaries awarded a contract for three island oil rigs. Adnoc Drilling won the $806 million contract from Adnoc Offshore and its CEO Abdulrahman Abdulla Al Seiari said this award will deliver high-quality returns well into 2038 and beyond. The three […]

The IMF has yet to publish a staff report from the fourth review, saying the Egyptian authorities needed more time to consider its publication

IMF to review Egypt’s economic reforms this week

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will begin the fifth review of Egypt’s $8 billion economic reform programme, with a team scheduled to arrive in Cairo this week, the IMF said in a statement on Monday. The IMF board approved the fourth review on March 11, unlocking a disbursement of $1.2 billion in a 46-month IMF […]

Adnoc Distribution profit: The company reported its highest-ever first-quarter fuel volume of 3.7 billion litres

Adnoc Distribution profit up as Q1 fuel sales surge

Adnoc Distribution said first-quarter 2025 net profit rose significantly as a result of the highest-ever fuel retail sales in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Net profit increased 16 percent year on year to AED639 million ($174 million), Adnoc unit said in a statement on Tuesday. The Abu Dhabi-listed fuel and convenience retailer added 20 new […]

Face, Head, Person Du's mobile customer base increased by 6 percent annually to 9.1 million subscribers with 475,000 new additions in the first quarter of 2025

UAE telco Du’s profit up a fifth as subscriber base expands

Dubai-listed telecom operator Du’s top and bottom lines rose in the first quarter of 2025, driven by an increase in the subscriber base and the UAE’s economic growth. Revenue grew more than 7 percent year on year to AED4 billion ($1 billion) during the quarter ended March 2025. The mobile customer base increased by 6 […]

Kuwait’s 2024 GDP falls $5bn due to oil price drop

Kuwait’s economy shrank by around $5.5 billion in 2024 after average oil prices declined by $4 a barrel and it cut output in line with Opec+ production quotas. Kuwait’s GDP shrank in current prices by 3 percent to KD49.1 billion ($162 billion) last year from KD50.8 billion ($167.5 billion) in 2023,  according to official data […]

Olaia artist's impression

Luxury Olaia Residences launches on Palm Jumeirah

Dubai developer Gulf House Real Estate has launched Olaia Residences, its first luxury development, for sale in the heart of Palm Jumeirah. The upscale residential project is planned to open in 2027 and will consist of one-to-three-bedroom apartments and three-to-five-bedroom duplexes.  State-of-the-art amenities will include indoor and rooftop pools, a wellness centre, a mini-golf course […]

In association with
Nature, Outdoors, Ground

Saudi budget deficit jumps fourfold as oil slumps

Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit rose nearly fourfold in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year, driven by a sharp drop in oil revenues. The kingdom reported a budget deficit of SAR59 billion ($16 billion) in the quarter ended March 2025 from $3.3 billion a year before. Total revenues fell 10 percent to […]

Shops in the souk in Aswan, Egypt. Bokra aims to help finance credit for the country's SMEs

Egyptian fintech Bokra arranges $60m sukuk

Egyptian financial technology startup Bokra and Aman Holding have arranged a near $60 million bond to help finance credit to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country, Aman said. The Cairo-based startup arranged EGP 3 billion ($59 million) worth of shariah-compliant debt in partnership with Egypt’s Aman Project Finance, a unit of Aman Holding. […]

Morocco's imports were far greater than their exports in the first quarter of 2025

Morocco’s trade deficit widens on import surge

Morocco’s trade deficit widened in the first quarter after a surge in imports, the economy and finance ministry reported. The shortfall grew by nearly a fifth, or 17 percent, to MAD71.6 billion ($7.8 billion) in the three months to March 31, compared with MAD61 billion in the same period last year, ministry data this week […]

Flynas reported a net profit of SAR493 million in the first nine months of 2025, up 51 percent from SAR327 million a year ago

Profitable Flynas to launch IPO this month

Low-cost carrier Flynas will launch a share sale on the local stock exchange this month in the latest in a series of initial public offerings (IPOs) by Saudi companies. The subscription to the will run from May 28 to June 1, 2025, according to the company’s prospectus. The airline, partly owned by billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, […]