Can Ola Electric justify its valuation?

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Editor's note: What does Ola Electric do? This is a question that has often vexed analysts and venture capital investors. The company is ostensibly meant to deal in building out infrastructure and technology for us in electric vehicles. The mandate is broad, and it has dabbled in charging stations, three-wheelers, two-wheelers, battery swapping and more. Ola Electric Mobility Pvt. Ltd started life as a wholly owned subsidiary of ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd, the corporation that runs ride-hailing service Ola. In March 2019, it was spun out as an independent company, with Ola CEO and co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal buying almost all of the parent company’s stake in the electric vehicle unit. A spate of investments from the likes of venture fund Matrix Partners, carmakers Kia and Hyundai, and Japanese tech investor SoftBank followed. Ola Electric is now valued at over $1 billion, making it a unicorn in startup speak (Ola itself is a unicorn, valued at over $6 billion). Electric vehicles are serious business, with the Indian government pushing hard for cleaner transport and most of the top automakers working hard on building …