Ola Electric in talks with Narayana Murthy's Catamaran for funding

Ola Electric is reportedly in talks with Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy's investment vehicle, Catamaran, to secure funds for its next round, where it hopes to raise $300 million, according to a report by The Economic Times.

Ola Electric's existing investor, Singapore state-owned private equity giant Temasek, is expected to put in around $100 million in the round, ET said, citing three top sources.

Catamaran is likely to invest $100 million to $150 million in Ola Electric, the report added.

Ola Electric and Catamaran did not immediately respond to YourStory's request for comment or to confirm the veracity of ET's report.

The Bhavish Aggarwal-led EV manufacturer raised $200 million in January 2022 from a host of investors such as Tekne Private Ventures, Alpine Opportunity Fund, Edelweiss, and others.

The pre-IPO round is likely being done to give early investors an exit, said an investor who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"The market is hard right now, and most projections say it'll get tougher down 2-4 quarters down the line. Also given the bust IPOs of Paytm, Nykaa, some early investors might be apprehensive about staying on till 2024 (when Ola Electric has planned for its IPO)," the investor said.

YourStory recently reported that Ola Electric has reportedly engaged Goldman Sachs, Kotak, Citi, and Axis as book runners for its IPO. The company could look to raise $1 billion in net proceeds from the IPO, at a valuation of $10 billion.