Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan Backs Ultraviolette as Indian EV Star Raises $85 Million

Quick Summary

• Funding: Ultraviolette Automotive has raised $85 million, or around ₹813 crore, in fresh capital.
• Lead Investors: The round is led by Yali Capital and TDK Ventures, alongside existing investors.
• Lip-Bu Tan Joins: The Intel CEO has personally invested in Ultraviolette and will also join the company as an adviser.
• Product Expansion: The funding will support the F77 and X-47, along with the upcoming Tesseract and Shockwave.
• Manufacturing: Ultraviolette’s new facility is designed to eventually scale production to 5 lakh vehicles annually.
• Global Plans: The company already retails across India and 20 European countries and is targeting a US entry in 2027.

Bengaluru-based Ultraviolette Automotive has raised ₹813 crore in fresh funding, giving the performance EV maker fresh capital for its next stage of product, manufacturing and international expansion.

The round is led by deep-tech investors Yali Capital and TDK Ventures, with participation from existing investors. One name, however, gives the announcement considerably more global weight: Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who has personally invested in Ultraviolette and will also join the company as an adviser.

Tan’s association with Ultraviolette is not new. According to the company, he first came across the Bengaluru startup in 2019, years before its first production motorcycle reached customers, and has followed its technology journey since then. His move from observer to investor and adviser arrives as Ultraviolette shifts from being known primarily for one high-performance electric motorcycle to building a much broader EV business.

Ultraviolette Expands Beyond the F77

The F77 established Ultraviolette as one of the most distinctive players in India’s electric two-wheeler market. Instead of entering the mass-market scooter race, the company built its identity around performance, proprietary technology and engineering developed in-house.

That foundation is now being expanded across multiple products. Ultraviolette currently has the F77 and X-47, while the upcoming Tesseract electric scooter and Shockwave electric motorcycle will take the company into new segments. The fresh capital will be used to increase production of existing models while accelerating the rollout of these upcoming vehicles.

The company has also developed capabilities across battery systems, power electronics, vehicle architecture, control systems and intelligent software, with battery architectures ranging from 48V to 400V. This allows Ultraviolette to carry its technology across different categories rather than building every new vehicle as an isolated programme.

What started as a performance motorcycle company is therefore beginning to look more like a broader EV technology platform built out of India.

Manufacturing Scale Rises to 5 Lakh Units Annually

The product expansion is being matched by a major increase in manufacturing capacity.

Ultraviolette has announced a new manufacturing facility designed to eventually support production of up to 500,000 vehicles, or 5 lakh units, annually. That capacity will be critical as the company expands beyond the F77 into the X-47, Tesseract, Shockwave and future vehicle platforms.

The latest funding arrives at exactly the stage where that manufacturing push begins to matter. Much of Ultraviolette’s earlier capital went into research, engineering and developing the technology underneath its vehicles. The company is now moving into a more growth-focused phase where those systems need to be deployed across more products, higher volumes and a much wider customer base.

The investor list behind that growth has also become increasingly notable. Ultraviolette has previously attracted backing from TVS Motor, Qualcomm Ventures, Zoho Corporation, Lingotto and TDK Ventures, with Lip-Bu Tan now joining the group.

Global Expansion Now Covers 20 European Markets

Ultraviolette’s expansion is not restricted to India.

The company currently retails across India and 20 European countries, giving it a footprint that remains unusual among Indian electric two-wheeler manufacturers. Markets include countries such as Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands.

International business is also becoming a meaningful part of the company rather than simply a future ambition. Ultraviolette has said overseas markets already contribute around 15% of volumes and roughly 20% of revenue, with that share expected to increase as the company expands further.

The next major step is the United States, where Ultraviolette is targeting entry in 2027. Expansion across other international regions, including Latin America and Southeast Asia, is also part of its wider roadmap.

For a company that began in Bengaluru with a single performance motorcycle, the trajectory has changed considerably. Ultraviolette is now building multiple products, increasing manufacturing capacity and taking Indian-developed EV technology into established automotive markets overseas.

Ultraviolette’s Global Ambition Gets a Major Boost

The ₹813 crore funding round brings together several parts of Ultraviolette’s growth story at once: a larger product portfolio, significantly higher manufacturing capacity and a rapidly expanding international presence.

More importantly, the company is beginning to demonstrate that an Indian EV manufacturer can build proprietary technology locally while positioning its products for markets far beyond India.

With Lip-Bu Tan joining as both investor and adviser, that ambition has now attracted another major name from the global technology industry.

Ultraviolette started by proving that a high-performance electric motorcycle could be designed and engineered in India. Today, the story is becoming considerably larger: an Indian EV company building technology in Bengaluru and increasingly taking it to the world.