Brands
Ather races past 5,00,000 electric scooters
MUMBAI: Ather Energy has just charged past a major milestone. The Bengaluru-based electric two-wheeler maker rolled out its 5,00,000th scooter from its Hosur plant in Tamil Nadu, with the milestone model being none other than the popular family scooter, Rizta.
The Rizta, launched last year, has swiftly become the brand’s star performer, now accounting for over a third of Ather’s total production. Co-founder and CTO Swapnil Jain called the achievement a “major milestone”, adding that it symbolises “years of focused engineering, rigorous testing, and meticulous attention to quality”.
From its first prototype to this electrifying half-million mark, Ather’s journey has been about more than scooters. It’s about building a robust and scalable manufacturing ecosystem.
Ather currently runs two plants in Hosur, one for vehicles and another for batteries, with a combined annual capacity of 4,20,000 scooters. To keep up with rising demand, the company is gearing up for its next big leap: Factory 3.0 in Bidkin, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra. Built on Industry 4.0 principles, the facility will supercharge Ather’s total capacity to 1.42 million scooters annually once fully operational.
Founded in 2013 by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain, Ather has become a front-runner in India’s electric mobility race. With innovations like the Ather grid, the country’s largest two-wheeler fast-charging network, and a growing product line spanning performance and family scooters, the company seems fully charged for the road ahead.
Brands
Komerz acquires Glassbox to launch creative commerce model in India
Brand storytelling meets AI-driven distribution as Komerz targets $345bn digital market
MUMBAI: London-headquartered commerce platform Komerz has acquired brand and marketing consultancy Glassbox, creating a single integrated system that blends creativity, distribution, and measurable sales.
The move introduces a new “creative commerce” model, combining AI-powered infrastructure, brand strategy, and performance measurement within one platform. By connecting upper-funnel brand building with lower-funnel conversion and repeat purchases, the combined entity aims to provide brands with a seamless growth engine.
Komerz Global CEO Ramesh Krishnamurthy said, “Creative commerce must operate across the funnel. Contextual content, data-led activation and distribution must function as one accountable growth engine.”
Komerz global COO Siddharth Shankar added, “Creative without distribution is theatre. Distribution without brand equity is discounting. Bringing both together lets brands build equity while driving measurable growth.”
Glassbox, founded in 2021 by Geetanjali Bhattacharji and Anil Nair, works across brand strategy, marketing transformation, and integrated communications. Bhattacharji said the integration reflects how “brand building must evolve from episodic campaigns to always-on, data-informed commerce frameworks.”
Komerz, valued around $330 million, operates across the UK, Europe, Asia, and North America. The acquisition will help multinational corporations manage complex global portfolios while enabling challenger and D2C brands to scale across India’s digital commerce market, projected to reach $345 billion by 2030.
With this deal, Komerz is strengthening its global “creative commerce” footprint, following its recent acquisition of US retail measurement firm Pathformance, and positioning itself at the intersection of creativity, commerce, and technology.
