Bengaluru Startup Builds an Electric Trike That Stays Upright — Even on India’s Toughest Roads

“Balancing heavy loads on a scooter in crowded streets was a nightmare,” says Meena Patil, a tiffin and milk delivery entrepreneur from Mumbai.

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“I would wobble through traffic with cans hanging on both sides, praying I don’t skid or fall. When it rained, it was terrifying, with slippery roads, potholes, and buses brushing past. I have seen riders crash, get hurt, and even lose their livelihood. But for many of us, two-wheelers were the only affordable way to work.”

For millions of everyday Indians like Meena, mobility has long been an act of endurance. The roads are unpredictable, and the vehicles are unstable. In Bengaluru, two engineers have spent the past few years attempting to rebalance that equation, not just through another electric scooter, but by inventing something that literally refuses to fall.

Their creation, the ‘iGowise Electric Trike’, is the first Indian three-wheeler designed with anti-topple technology, a rare feat of engineering that places dignity, safety, and inclusivity at the centre of mobility.

Two minds, one mission

The story of ‘iGowise Mobility’ begins with two men from very different worlds, united by a shared conviction that technology must serve people, not the other way round.

Sravan Kumar Appana, 37, is a technologist turned entrepreneur with an education that straddles both engineering and business. After completing his undergraduate studies from IIIT Allahabad, he went on to earn a master’s in business education from the Indian School of Business (ISB).

His career began in the corporate corridors of Pune, later taking him to Malaysia and Israel, where he worked on products spanning fintech, cloud infrastructure, and smart city technologies. Despite the prestige of his work, something never sat right with him.

“I remember standing inside the Vizag City Command Centre that I had helped design,” Sravan tells The Better India. “We were building systems to make cities smarter, tracking lights, traffic, and sensors, but the people outside were still struggling to travel safely. The milkman, the vegetable seller, and the elderly lady on her scooter had their problems that were not being addressed. It struck me that a smart city must start with safe and dignified mobility.”

Meanwhile, Suresh Babu Salla, 53, brought with him decades of experience as a civil engineer and railway technologist.

A graduate of NIT Warangal with a master’s in industrial management from IIT Madras, he had served in the Indian Railways Service of Engineers (IRSE), where he worked on complex infrastructure projects that demanded precision and reliability. His greatest fascination was not in bridges or rails but in balance, in how motion could be made stable, graceful, and safe.

“I have always been amazed by bullet trains. They move at extraordinary speeds on narrow tracks, yet they never derail. It is one of the most beautiful pieces of engineering ever created. That elegance inspired me to think about smaller vehicles that could achieve something similar,” he explains.

When the two men met a couple of years ago, they found an immediate kinship. Both were restless and eager to create technology that touched human lives.

“We were tired of innovation that looked smart on paper but failed in practice,” Sravan recalls. “We asked ourselves a simple question — can we build something small that makes a big human difference?”

By June 2020, at the height of the pandemic, that question turned into a company. iGowise Mobility was born with a purpose to design vehicles that bring balance, literally and metaphorically, to the people who ride them.

From concept to creation

At first, the duo were working on autonomous shuttle pods for smart campuses, but as the pandemic grounded public transport, they realised the need for a more immediate and personal form of mobility. They began to look at India’s ubiquitous three-wheelers, the humble tricycle and the autorickshaw, and wondered if they could be reimagined for the electric age.

For the first eight to nine months, the team focused almost entirely on market research. They were trying to understand the lives of the people who would ride the vehicle.

“We spoke to everyone, from small micro-entrepreneurs and delivery riders to women and the elderly. We wanted to understand the struggles they faced on two-wheelers every single day. It was about grasping the bigger picture before even thinking about building,” Sravan explains.

With these insights in hand, they launched full-scale research and development in 2021. The first sketches and ideas soon turned into prototypes in 2022. The work was painstaking, requiring a delicate integration of electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, and software systems to achieve balance and movement.

Over the next two years, they created 15 successive prototypes, each iteration refined and improved based on feedback.

The trikes were put through an odyssey of testing. Together, they clocked over 100,000 kilometres across the vast and varied landscapes of India. From the urban mazes of Bengaluru to the broad ring roads of Hyderabad, from the winding mountain routes of Ooty and Coimbatore to the coastal lanes of Goa, from Ahmedabad’s dry heat to Pune’s monsoon rain, the trikes battled it all.

“If it could stay upright on India’s roads, it could stay upright anywhere,” says Suresh with a laugh. The testing was done with hundreds of riders, from milkmen and delivery partners to senior citizens and women commuters.

“One woman told us her saree kept getting caught in the side stand,” Sravan recalls. “That small comment led us to rethink the footboard entirely. Every kilometre taught us something.”

Engineering the anti-topple revolution

At the core of the iGowise trike lies its anti-topple ‘gimbal’ tilting technology, a system as elegant as it is effective. The trike’s structure is divided into two parts: one is the lower body, which holds twin rear wheels that maintain road grip even on potholes or bumps, and the other is the upper body, which tilts fluidly with the rider, mirroring natural human balance.

The result is a ride that feels intuitive, smooth, and secure, almost like gliding.

“It is a perfect combination of engineering complexity and human instinct,” says Suresh.

“The bottom half anchors you; the top half moves with you. It feels alive, and not mechanical.”

Adding to the innovation is the trike’s on-demand level-2 self-balancing system, which uses a combination of electrical, mechanical, and hydraulic mechanisms to keep the vehicle upright even when stationary.

“You can stop at a traffic light and never have to put your feet down,” Sravan explains. “It seems like a small thing, but for riders, especially women or the elderly, it makes a huge difference.”

Riders can charge the trike conveniently using standard sockets, with the battery reaching 80% charge in just 90 minutes. Depending on the variant, they can cover between 75 km and 140 km per charge, making them versatile for daily commutes, deliveries, and longer journeys.

Why two wheels at the back?

While most global trikes place two wheels in front, known as the “tadpole” configuration, iGowise chose the opposite. “Two front wheels are great for highways,” Suresh says, “but India’s roads are full of potholes, broken tarmac, and unexpected loads. We needed something with better rear stability, more comfort, and higher payload capacity.”

The twin rear-wheel design proved ideal for India and other emerging markets, offering a safer and more versatile configuration that could handle both passengers and cargo.

Patents, certifications, and milestones

Years of research and road trials culminated in certification from India’s premier automotive bodies, the International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) and the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). The trike meets the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) and the AIS-156 battery safety standard.

“Getting certified was like running a marathon in a storm, but when the approvals came through, it felt like a personal victory for every engineer who refused to give up,” says Sravan.

Today, the company holds 12 patents, covering tilt-control systems, self-balancing mechanisms, and modular frames, with several more pending.

Built for the people

From the beginning, inclusivity was a central design philosophy. The trike was made for everyone, from women in sarees and elderly riders to gig workers and micro-entrepreneurs.

Dr Srikanth Reddy Kalakonda, founder of Hala Mobility in Hyderabad, saw the impact first-hand. “Before the trike, our riders were constantly battling fatigue and imbalance,” he says. “The iGowise trike improves stability by nearly 40% and drastically reduces accidents.”

Ramesh Pawar, a delivery rider from Pune, shares a similar story. “I used to finish every day with back pain,” he says. “Now, I ride longer, carry more, and still feel comfortable.”

For Meena in Mumbai, the change has been worth noticing. “Earlier, I had to wait for someone to help me deliver the milk cans. Now I do it myself. I feel independent, safe, and respected.”

A company in motion

By the end of 2024, iGowise had completed all necessary central and state government certifications. Over the past nine months, they have been conducting a series of trials, some offered as free pilots and others with customers ready to invest.

The company generated Rs 1 crore in pilot revenue while simultaneously building an order book of 900 vehicles, all scheduled for dispatch in March 2026.

An additional 1,500 vehicles are currently under negotiation, and more than 1,000 individual customers have already pre-booked their trikes.

Scaling the dream

To make global expansion possible, iGowise has developed a flat-pack CKD (Completely Knocked Down) version of its trike. Inquiries have already arrived from 20 countries.

At home, pricing remains accessible. Vehicles are expected to be available for under Rs 1 lakh, with a battery-as-a-service model and flexible rental plans starting from Rs 250 per day.

Replacing a petrol scooter with the iGowise trike can reduce carbon emissions by up to 70%. As March 2026 approaches and the first fleet of trikes awaits dispatch, the iGowise workshop hums with energy.

“Technology is about people. The trike bends when you lean, steadies when you stop, and stands tall when you do. That is what dignity in motion means,” Suresh says.

All pictures courtesy iGowise Mobility