Swapnil Jain

Co-founder @atherenergy

Technology, music, jokes and anything stupidly ambitious.

Reduce Reuse Recycle in that order

[Swapnil Jain @swapniljain89]

Visited Ulsoor lake in the morning.

Finding Pelicans was such an amazing site

[TOI Bengaluru @TOIBengaluru]

Rare slice of nature in #Bengaluru 👇

The rejuvenated #Ulsoor #Lake put on a spectacular show this morning, with flocks of birds returning to its freshly desilted waters. Recently drained out, the lake is now buzzing with life.

(📹 by visitor Jairaj Daniel)
@timesofindia

[Swapnil Jain @swapniljain89]

Congratulations to the IITB team for demonstrating that we don't need to be afraid of building things

[Swapnil Jain @swapniljain89]

You can just do things!

The significance here is not that now tomorrow we will replace ASML. But that things which many people are scared about aren't really that difficult.

[Runtime @RuntimeBRT]

Indian students are DIYing a semiconductor fab at IIT Bombay.

In just 10 months they've built:

1. A DLP-based lithography machine.
2. A tube furnace to oxidise silicon.
3. A DC plasma sputter.

Total cost: ₹30 lakh.

Here's a rare behind-the-scenes look at HackerFab IITB.

[Swapnil Jain @swapniljain89]

In my latest interaction with startups at Bharat Innovates I realised so many young engineers building amazing things which I myself was scared off.

From Drones to medical devices to defence tech to semicon every one of those 120 startups was doing cutting edge work

[TOI Bengaluru @TOIBengaluru]

How Bannerghatta Road in #Bengaluru has turned into a hell-hole?

Thousands of motorists, including school kids, risk their lives navigating this broken & dusty road.

Read 👉 https://t.co/Fw8VI6SxtA

TOI lensman Syed Asif clicks👇 @timesofindia

[Swapnil Jain @swapniljain89]

@fooobar Even if you flag to Google about ads of fraud websites using your org name for fake dealerships, they will do nothing about it. Many people lost money purely because of these fraud ads.

And as a company whose trademark is being used we can do nothing about it.

[Swapnil Jain @swapniljain89]

The world needs a country which all lawyers can just agree as a default jurisdiction

Will speed up product development a lot by speeding up NDAs

[Greater Bengaluru Authority @GBA_office]

♻️ OLD BULKY WASTE TO DISPOSE OFF?
Bengaluru now has a smarter way!

🚛 FREE Doorstep Pickup for Bulky Waste across Bengaluru

To promote responsible waste disposal and a cleaner city, Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Ltd. (BSWML) has launched the DCLUTTER App — a simple, citizen-friendly solution for safe and hassle-free bulky waste collection across Bengaluru.

🪑 Old furniture
🛏️ Mattresses
📺 Broken electronics
🚲 Unused household items

Dispose of bulky waste responsibly from the comfort of your doorstep.

📲 Download the DCLUTTER App today and keep Bengaluru clean & clutter-free! 🌿🏙️

#GreaterBengaluruAuthority #BSWML #DKShivakumar #gbachiefcommissioner
@DKShivakumar

[Tarun Mehta @tarunsmehta]

At the start of FY26, we were clear about what we wanted to do: ramp up demand through new products. Scale that demand through new stores, distribution.

Coming up on the anniversary of Ather going public - happy to repor that FY26 has been about executing on exactly that!

We saw strong growth across all key metrics, with scale and operating leverage starting to come through meaningfully.
• Units sold: ~2.63 lakh 🔼69% YoY
• Total income: ₹3,823 crore 🔼66% YoY
• Adjusted Gross Margin: ₹925 crore 🔼116% YoY
• EBITDA: ~(6.7%) 🔼~1630 bps YoY

Q4 was our strongest quarter yet.
• Volumes: 83,418 🔼76% YoY
• Total income: ₹1,214 crore 🔼76% YoY
• Adjusted Gross Margin: 25% 🔼~700 bps YoY
• EBITDA: ~(2.5%) 🔼~2080 bps YoY

This growth came from getting both product and distribution right. Rizta helped us unlock a much larger addressable market, especially in underpenetrated regions. At the same time, we scaled our footprint to 700 Experience Centres and ~548 service centres, with strong participation from existing partners.

Geographically, the shift is clearly visible.
Middle India scaled to ~17.3% market share.
Rest of India grew to ~12.1%.
South retained leadership at ~23.5%.

Our ecosystem continues to strengthen alongside our vehicles. Non-vehicle revenue is now ~13% of total income, and software adoption remains high with ~93% attach rates in Q4.

Grateful to our customers for trusting us, and to the team and partners for executing consistently through the year!
@atherenergy

[Tarun Mehta @tarunsmehta]

I have had the opportunity to engage with several policy makers on the topic of Auto PLI excluding startups and I just can’t believe that they would think so!

It cannot be emphasised enough - current framing of Auto PLI needs to stay closely aligned with the moment India is in.

Over the last decade, the electric two wheeler ecosystem in India has evolved through contributions from both incumbents and electric first companies. Many of these startups invested early in product, software, power electronics, and localisation, often without the cushion of legacy scale. In doing so, they have pushed the boundaries and pulled in the competition to together build a competitive but a very vibrant and dynamic EV market.

Today in many many markets it is the ‘new age EV companies’ that are industry leaders in not just innovation and tech, but in absolute volumes and market shares. Aligned with the PLI’s vision, it is these ‘startups and new age EV companies’ that are investing hundred, even thousands of crores in most new manufacturing capacities for EVs. For example at Ather we have already employed more than 4000 people directly and tens of thousands indirectly in our channels and supply chains. We have invested thousands of crores in RnD and direct capex and on top of this we are now investing 2000 crores in our new green field facility in Maharasthra. This is literally what PLI was hoping as an outcome and is being realized by a non-PLI holder, against all odds.

And most crucially, they are doing all this while also investing heavily in R&D and domestic value addition (DVA). DVA benchmarks are similar across PLI and non PLI players so it would be wrong to assume that startups don’t lead DVA requirements. These companies have consistently pushed deeper on indigenous development, building capabilities that are at par with, and in some cases ahead of, the broader industry.

An EV policy architecture that defines champions primarily through legacy scale, not even scale within the EV industry, can create an unintended imbalance. It places emerging EV manufacturers at a 13 to 16 percent cost disadvantage at a stage where they are continuing to invest heavily in capability building. Over time, this will influence how the market evolves, even as the goal is to build both scale and future ready capability.

In this train of EV industry if legacy businesses are the bogeys, startups and new age companies are the engine. You cannot take the engine out of the equation and hope for the bogeys to move forward themselves.

If India’s ambition is to lead in electric mobility, policy needs to recognise where innovation and capability are being built. Much of the work around indigenous platforms, battery systems, software, and domestic value addition is happening within electric first companies, and they will continue to set global benchmarks in design and technology.

What is needed is calibration of PLI, not overhaul. More flexible eligibility, aligned with localisation and R&D intensity, can help ensure we are building long term capability, not just near term scale.

[Swapnil Jain @swapniljain89]

Take that everyone who laughed at me for drinking tea after cooling it!

[Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM @hyderabaddoctor]

Hot tea & cancer risk: it is the temperature, not the tea
🔹Evidence shows that very hot beverages (>65°C) can injure the esophageal lining.
🔹Repeated thermal injury results in chronic inflammation, which increases mutation risk.
🔹The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies drinks >65°C as “probably carcinogenic” (Group 2A).

Cohort data (Golestan, 50,000+ adults, 10-year follow-up) showed that:
🔹Drinking tea ≥60°C was associated with about 40% higher risk of esophageal cancer.
🔹Drinking tea within 2 minutes of pouring was associated with about 50% higher risk.
🔹“Very hot” preference was associated with even higher risk.

✅Simple fix: WAIT 4–5 minutes
Tea typically cools below 65°C in this time. Risk related to temperature largely disappears.

(Note: These studies only showed an association, further studies are needed to prove cause-effect relationship)

Dr Sudhir Kumar (@hyderabaddoctor)

[Swapnil Jain @swapniljain89]

First time in my life I had seen fireflies. Seeing them in such huge quantities in one spot was a lifetime experience. Such magic exists just very near to us.

[iamaboomer @padmakumar5]

Something unbelievable happened! We went to #valparai hoping to see fireflies with little hope. Started after the evening session for 2 nights to see the fireflies congregate. Both the nights turned out to be really lucky and the forest put on a show. #firefly @supriyasahuias

[Swapnil Jain @swapniljain89]

@vtrrk Used only for two weeks now

[Swapnil Jain @swapniljain89]

Best purchase for the summer!

[Swapnil Jain @swapniljain89]

TIL, we import popcorn maize

https://t.co/A5qwpIvXmA

[Karthikeyan @karthic_KP]

At our Ooty charging stations on sunday, Observations,

Drivers often charge to 100% at hilltops before descending.

Friendly reminder: regen will add 10-15% on the way down, so 80% is usually enough.

Helps reduce wait times for fellow drivers.

Charge smart / courteous.

[Swapnil Jain @swapniljain89]

Karvaan song, can't unhear Another one bites the dust

[Swapnil Jain @swapniljain89]

Crisis helps to overcome inertia

[ChristinMathewPhilip @ChristinMP_]

Bengaluru plans biogas from 3,000 tonnes of daily wet waste amid LPG crisis; supply to hotels planned

@GBA_office @GBAChiefComm

https://t.co/Yi9Rr92W5t

[Swapnil Jain @swapniljain89]

Funny how most companies talk about adding ice in air coolers, but it actually doesn't make much of a difference.

The major cooling is by evaporation and not by convection. So adding ice might actually slightly reduce the effectiveness.