Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan Backs Ultraviolette's $85 Million Round

Indian electric two-wheeler maker Ultraviolette Automotive has raised $85 million (about €74 million) and set its sights on the U.S. market, which it aims to enter in 2027.

Yali Capital, a Bengaluru-based venture firm focused on early-stage deep tech, and TDK Ventures led the round. Lip-Bu Tan, Chairman of Walden International and CEO of Intel, participated alongside Ultraviolette's existing long-term investors.

Tan is also joining the startup as an advisor. "What I really like about Ultraviolette is the combination of deep engineering expertise, strong IP, and the willingness to take on genuinely difficult problems. They have built the technology from first principles and are focused on creating something that is truly differentiated for the long term," he said.

The capital will fund production expansion for the existing F77 motorcycle and X-47, as well as the upcoming Tesseract scooter and Shockwave enduro motorcycle. It will also bankroll development of new-generation global EV platforms.

The company's product timeline is tightly sequenced. Deliveries of the F77 began in India in early 2023, followed by the X-47 in late 2025. The Tesseract is slated to go on sale in early 2027, and Chief Product Officer Vinayak Bhat hinted in an exclusive interview with electrive earlier this month that the Shockwave would arrive in showrooms soon after.

Ultraviolette's international footprint has grown fast. Over the last two years, the startup has entered 20 European markets. Beyond the planned 2027 U.S. entry, it intends to expand into Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Manufacturing capacity is scaling to match. Ultraviolette builds the F77 and X-47 at a Bengaluru plant with an annual capacity of 30,000 units. It plans to lift that plant's output to 50,000 units and construct a second facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, with an annual capacity of 250,000 units — scalable to 500,000 units when demand requires.

The round signals more than fresh cash for Ultraviolette. With Intel's chief executive taking an advisory seat, the Bengaluru company gains a direct line into semiconductor supply chains and global tech capital at the exact moment it is designing platforms for export markets. The 2027 window, when the Tesseract, the U.S. launch and the Hosur factory converge, will test whether the company can execute on several fronts at once.