Bengaluru-based electric vehicle maker Ultraviolette Automotive has secured USD 45 million from Zoho Corporation and Lingotto, one of Europe's investment management companies as part of its ongoing Series E investment round.

The investment from Zoho Corporation was led by Sridhar Vembu, Mani Vembu and Kumar Vembu.

This growth capital will accelerate the domestic and international scale-up of current products F77 and X-47, as well as future product platforms Shockwave and Tesseract.

Ultraviolette has built a design and technology-led enterprise with the F77 and the recently launched X-47.

The company has expanded to 30 cities across India in a short span of 12 months and is expanding to 100 cities by mid-2026. The F77 motorcycles were recently launched in the United Kingdom, bringing Ultraviolette's presence to 12 countries across Europe.

Narayan Subramaniam, Co-Founder & CEO, Ultraviolette Automotive, said, “We are glad to announce our Series E investment from Zoho and Lingotto. Lingotto's legacy of backing iconic performance and mobility brands, combined with Zoho's long-term commitment to fostering cutting-edge Indian innovation, aligns perfectly with Ultraviolette's mission to build category-defining electric mobility solutions for India and global markets.”

Niraj Rajmohan, CTO & Co-Founder, Ultraviolette, said, "With the ongoing Series E investments, we are doubling down on growth and expanding our production to meet increasing demand. Our focus is on advancing breakthrough battery technology, elevating performance capabilities and expanding production to support upcoming product platforms. This investment will accelerate our journey towards scaling into India and global markets."

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Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI) and the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) have announced a five-year Master Research Agreement (MRA) to facilitate joint research programmes and knowledge development between industry and academia.

The collaboration focuses on technologies including quantum systems, materials, neuromorphic engineering and electric mobility. The initiative seeks to combine academic research with engineering requirements to develop intellectual property and technology solutions.

The first phase of the agreement involves a project centred on quantum sensors and battery systems. This research is led by Prof. Nirat Ray from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Prof. Saurabh Saxena from the Centre for Applied Research and Technology.

The partnership will concentrate on:

• Quantum Technologies: Development of sensors for vehicle systems.
• Future Materials: Research into substances for automotive engineering.
• Neuromorphic Engineering: Mimicking biological neural structures for computing.
• Electric Mobility: Advancing battery systems and power electronics.

The teams will work on interdisciplinary research, prototype development, and validation of technologies intended for the mobility sector.

Manu Saale, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India, said, “This year marks 140 years since the invention of the automobile, a chapter that reflects the beginning of Mercedes‑Benz’s journey in shaping mobility. MBRDI is also celebrating a milestone as we mark 30 years of engineering excellence in India. We envision a future where academia and industry are systemically partnering to realise real-world challenges and provide meaningful breakthroughs. In that context, our collaboration with IIT Delhi is a significant leap for our legacy of innovation, helping us redefine mobility faster and better. Together, we aim to shape solutions that make a difference today and in the years ahead.”

Prof. Preeti Ranjan Panda, Dean of Corporate Relations at IIT Delhi, stated, “We are pleased to partner with MBRDI in this collaboration, which builds upon IIT Delhi's commitment to enable knowledge exchange and co-creation with industry partners. Through this initiative, the Institute seeks to advance high-quality research and generate impactful innovations that enable sustainable, affordable, and future-ready mobility. Our objective is to develop solutions that address India’s mobility challenges while establishing new benchmarks for global impact.”

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3ev Industries, a Bengaluru-based three-wheeler electric vehicle (EV) OEM manufacturer, and 3eco Systems, a full-stack EV logistics platform, have entered into a strategic partnership with Cautio, one of India’s leading video telematics companies, to install the latter's AI-powered dash camera systems across their electric three-wheeler fleet. The collaboration involves installing systems from Cautio into 10,000 electric three-wheelers. This initiative is designed to enhance protection for drivers, passengers and the wider community, with over 1,200 vehicles already operational in Bengaluru and Chennai. Crucially, Cautio’s dashcams will become a standard factory-installed feature on all new vehicles produced by 3ev.

This move represents a significant shift in India's electric mobility landscape by establishing safety as a fundamental, built-in component from the manufacturing stage. The partnership aims to create a comprehensive data network that links the original equipment manufacturer with the fleet operator while prioritising driver welfare and using data-driven accountability as a key market advantage. As electric fleets expand, the focus is expected to move beyond simply electrifying vehicles to incorporating intelligent systems that ensure safety and operational efficiency.

The decision to collaborate with Cautio followed a rigorous assessment of various global and domestic telematics platforms. Key evaluation criteria included performance in edge computing, the precision of real-time alerts and device durability in challenging environments characterised by high temperatures and dust. A pivotal factor was Cautio’s India-centric design philosophy. Unlike systems developed for highway driving in mature markets, Cautio’s technology is specifically tailored for the complexities of Indian urban conditions, such as congested traffic, unreliable 4G connectivity and extreme weather. Its architecture processes data directly on the device, ensuring core safety functions remain operational even without a stable cloud connection, thereby minimising latency and blind spots.

The AI-driven system employs computer vision to continuously monitor driver behaviour, issuing instant alerts upon detecting signs of fatigue, distraction or mobile phone usage. Concurrently, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) analyse the road environment to warn of potential collisions and lane deviations, a critical function in India’s mixed-traffic scenarios. All trip data is consolidated into a centralised dashboard, offering fleet managers real-time, comprehensive oversight of their operations.

Beyond the hardware installation, the multi-year agreement includes a joint commitment to research and development, driver training and community road safety initiatives. The collective goal is to develop a scalable and structured approach to safety within the electric three-wheeler sector. As citywide fleet electrification progresses and safety regulations evolve, the integration of such embedded AI systems is anticipated to become increasingly vital to operational protocols and risk mitigation strategies.

Suman Mishra, Director, 3eco Systems, said, “Our objective was not just to add monitoring hardware but to deploy technology that meaningfully supports drivers on the road.”

Karan Kadaba, Director, 3ev Industries, said, “Following a detailed evaluation across global and domestic platforms, Cautio emerged as the right partner, combining technical capability with a deep understanding of Indian operating conditions. Other platforms required reliable 4G connectivity that simply does not exist across all our routes. This collaboration reflects our continued focus on building a safety-first operating framework for drivers, fleet partners and passengers.”

Ankit Acharya, Co-Founder & CEO, Cautio, said, “What we are building with 3ev Industries and 3eco Systems is not a vendor-client relationship. It is a shared mission. The electric three-wheeler driver is the new face of India’s urban mobility workforce. These are young people building livelihoods, serving communities, connecting cities. They deserve the same level of safety that protects drivers in premium fleets. But safety cannot stop at a device – it must extend to how we train drivers, how we develop technology and how we hold ourselves accountable to the communities we serve. India is asking for safer roads. With 3ev and 3eco, we are answering. This is more than a deployment. This is the start of building a safer country.”

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3ev Industries, an electric three-wheeler manufacturer and 3eco Systems, an EV logistics platform, have announced a partnership to equip 10,000 electric vehicles with AI-powered dash cameras. The hardware, manufactured by video telematics company Cautio, will become a standard feature on all vehicles produced by 3ev Industries.

At present, 1,200 vehicles equipped with the technology are operational in Bengaluru and Chennai. The remaining units in the 10,000-vehicle commitment will be rolled out across OEM and fleet platforms, representing a large-scale safety integration for the Indian three-wheeler segment.

The Cautio systems use an architecture designed for Indian urban conditions, characterised by high temperatures, dust and inconsistent 4G connectivity. The technology employs edge computing to process data on the device, reducing reliance on cloud connectivity for safety functions.

The key feature of the integrated AI technology include Driver Monitoring System (DMS), Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) sensors, real-time alerts and operational dashboard for fleet operators.

The collaboration extends to joint research and development, driver training programmes, and road safety advocacy. By embedding safety systems at the factory level, the partners aim to establish a framework for risk management as fleet electrification scales.

Suman Mishra, Director, 3eco Systems, said, “Our objective was not just to add monitoring hardware, but to deploy technology that meaningfully supports drivers on the road. Following a detailed evaluation across global and domestic platforms, Cautio emerged as the right partner, combining technical capability with a deep understanding of Indian operating conditions. Other platforms required reliable 4G connectivity that simply does not exist across all our routes.”

Karan Kadaba, Director, 3ev Industries, added, “This collaboration reflects our continued focus on building a safety-first operating framework for drivers, fleet partners, and passengers.”

Ankit Acharya, Co-Founder & CEO, Cautio, said, “The electric three-wheeler driver is the new face of India’s urban mobility workforce. These are young people building livelihoods, serving communities, connecting cities. They deserve the same level of safety that protects drivers in premium fleets. But safety cannot stop at a device - it must extend to how we train drivers, how we develop technology, and how we hold ourselves accountable to the communities we serve.”

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Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation have announced a strategic investment in Qnovo, a developer of battery software. The funding expands an existing collaboration to deploy Qnovo’s battery intelligence software across electric vehicle (EV) platforms and future mobility systems.

The investment follows a period of collaborative testing where Qnovo’s algorithms were validated against the reliability standards of both car manufacturers. The software provides a digital accounting of battery health via a hardware-free architecture, allowing for real-time monitoring of performance and safety.

According to the IEA’s Global EV Outlook 2025, battery demand is projected to reach 4,000 GWh by 2030. As battery adoption increases, the industry faces challenges regarding affordability, reliability, and lifecycle economics.

Qnovo’s technology uses physics-based predictive algorithms to manage battery charging. This data-driven approach is designed to – provide precise data on battery degradation for underwriting warranties; determine residual value by identifying the value of batteries throughout their lifecycle. And optimise performance by managing charging in real-time to maintain safety and longevity.

Hyundai and Kia join a group of investors in Qnovo that includes BorgWarner, Blue Earth Capital, Climate Investment, Constellation, RockPort Capital and US Venture Partners. The collaboration aligns with a shift toward software-defined vehicles where intelligence governs the performance of autonomous systems and robotics.

Nadim Maluf, CEO, Qnovo, said, “Hyundai Motor and Kia’s investment is a testament to the strategic importance of sophisticated battery intelligence for charging and vehicle experience. We are creating a new standard for how batteries are managed, valued and scaled globally.”

Chang Hwan Kim, Executive Vice-President, Hyundai Motor Company, said, “Partnering with Qnovo enables us to integrate the leading battery intelligence into our EV platforms. Qnovo’s unique approach to battery intelligence aligns with our vision for the future of mobility, where software is an important driver of the customer experience and vehicle longevity.”

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