2024 TOTMs: Aravind Mani Wins Jagdish Khattar Rising Star Award

For creating an innovative product and taking a bold decision to make a utilitarian scooter aspirational, Aravind Mani, CEO and Co-founder of River rightly deserves the coveted 2024 Acko Drive Awards' Jagdish Khattar Rising Star Award. 

River is among  India’s youngest EV startups founded in 2021 and has a manufacturing facility on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Aravind has over a decade of experience and led a distinguished career in which he handled various roles as a commercial leader and business strategy professional in various industries including auto. 

(Also Read: Yamaha Invests $ 40 Mn (₹ 332 Cr) in Indian EV Brand River Mobility)

Unlike other EV brands present in the market, River created a distinctive product like the Indie, dubbed as the SUV of scooters. The core idea being to deliver a product that’s utilitarian while being appealing as well. The impressive bit is that the Indie went from design into production within 2 years. River recently received $40 million from Yamaha Motor Corporation, Japan and in this short time period, has raised over $ 65 million in funding. For creating an innovative product and taking a bold decision to make a utilitarian scooter aspirational, Aravind Mani rightly deserves the award.