Chester, England-based Bikmo, a cycle and e-mobility insurance company, announced on Wednesday, October 18, that it has secured £3.4M (approximately €3.9M) Series A extension round led by Puma Private Equity. 

The company says it will utilise the funds to expand its operation into additional European markets and offer support to international partners.

The European Parliament, recognising the growing importance of cycling, has declared 2024 as the ‘Year of Cycling’ to double the distance covered by cyclists by 2030. 

The adoption of e-bikes is also on the rise, with UK electric bike sales having surged by over 40 per cent in 2020. 

Furthermore, e-bike sales accounted for 50 per cent of all bike sales in Germany in 2022. 

Bikmo has capitalised on this trend, with 40 per cent of its new policyholders opting for e-bike coverage. 

Louise Towers, CFO of Bikmo, says, “We’re delighted to close this round and onboard Puma Private Equity as we accelerate growth in the UK and Europe, continuing to increase our footprint and capitalise on the increasing opportunities in the wider bike and mobility sectors. Working with a company aligned with our values combined with their depth of experience in international growth across a wide range of technology-enabled sectors is a perfect match for Bikmo.”

Bikmo: Protecting the world’s riders

Founded in 2014, Bikmo is a cycle insurer with a mission to protect the world’s riders.

The company provides a range of insurance products designed to protect various types of cyclists, from road cyclists and triathletes to daily commuters. 

They offer coverage for both individual and commercial risks, including partnerships with brands like Deliveroo, along with additional services such as legal protection and breakdown assistance.

Additionally, the company has also built a core platform of microservices, an API ecosystem, and data insights that enable Bikmo to move fast across territories, products, and verticals.

The recent development of its API technology allows Bikmo to offer embedded insurance solutions, which can be integrated into other products or services easily.

This approach enhances the customer experience and boosts conversion rates, claims the company. 

Bikmo has already successfully implemented its first fully embedded insurance solution in collaboration with BuyCycle in Germany and is currently focused on integrating similar solutions with new and relevant partners.

The B Corp-certified specialist insurer protects over 75,000 riders in the UK, Ireland, Germany, and Austria, and is currently focusing on expanding into other European markets and supporting multinational partners.

The investor

Puma Private Equity is a provider of growth capital to small and medium-sized UK businesses across all sectors and regions.

The company delivers investments between £2M to £10M, partnering with management teams to accelerate their growth and help businesses throughout the country achieve their potential.

Since its inception, Puma Investments has raised more than £490M in capital. 

Kelvin Reader, Investment Director at Puma Private Equity, says, “We are excited to be backing Bikmo at this significant stage in their growth journey. They are ideally placed as one of the UK’s largest specialist bike insurers to capitalise on the e-bike movement and the increasing number of people opting to use bikes as a mode of transport.”

“We are also thrilled to back another company in the North West, our first deal since we set up a Manchester office to expand our presence in the North with Investment Director, Mark Lyons and recruit Emily Bourne. We are well placed to support the next generation of exceptional scale-up businesses emerging from the region,” adds Reader. 

Sweden-based Volta Trucks, an automotive company offering electric trucks for sustainable cities, announced on Tuesday that it has filed for bankruptcy after failing to secure a battery supplier and additional capital. 

The announcement comes ten months after raising €60M in a Series C extension round. 

Proterra, the battery supplier for Volta Trucks, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which resulted in a reduction of forecasted vehicle production volumes.

This uncertainty with its battery supplier negatively affected the Swedish company’s ability to raise sufficient capital in a challenging environment for EV players.

The main trading entity of the Group, Volta Trucks Limited, will shortly file for administration in England with insolvency practitioners from Alvarez & Marsal anticipated to take office. 

Other Group entities will shortly file for insolvency proceedings in the relevant jurisdictions.

“The Board has not taken this course easily or lightly and is fully aware of the significant impact this will have on the organisation’s dedicated workforce, as well as customers and partners. We would like to sincerely thank the Volta Trucks team and are incredibly proud of their pioneering work to deliver such an innovative zero-emission commercial vehicle,” says the company in a statement. 

Volta Truck: What you need to know

Founded in 2019 by Carl-Magnus Norden and Kjell Walöen, and currently led by CEO Essa Al-Saleh, Volta Trucks is a full-electric commercial vehicle manufacturer and services company. 

It has offices in Sweden, France, and the UK, and is partnering with several global supply chain leaders for the development and production of its vehicle Volta Zero.

The company already has thousands of pre-orders for the full-electric Volta Zero. 

The Volta Zero is a purpose-built full-electric 16-tonne vehicle designed for inner-city logistics, thereby reducing the environmental impact of freight deliveries in city centres. 

The truck offers an operating range of 150-200 Kms (95–125 miles) and, as per company claims, will eliminate an estimated 1.9M tonnes of CO2 by 2026.

Helmond-based Lightyear, a company that manufactures solar-powered cars, has temporarily halted production of its solar car. Instead, it will focus on producing solar roofs for car manufacturers through its subsidiary Lightyear Layer.

The announcement comes as the Dutch company has been unable to find new investors to further develop the solar car, Lightyear 2, since restarting from bankruptcy.

Pivoting business strategy

Talking about the abrupt shift in the company’s business strategy, Lex Hoefsloot, the CEO and Co-founder of Lightyear, tells Silicon Canals, “Over the past couple of months, we have noticed a significant rise in the demand for solar technology across the various industries. With Lightyear Layer we build record-breaking solar arrays that have the highest efficiency and are ready to be mass-produced and thoroughly tested in the harshest environment. We have been successfully talking to different parties for a while, and one of these parties is a big Asian OEM.”

“By taking these developments into account, as well as the lessons learned over the last few months, we have decided to further focus on our core technologies. We will focus on deploying integrated solar systems for cars at scale as these are closest to the market. For the other core technologies (e.g. the inwheel-motors) Lightyear continues to strengthen its collaboration and partnerships strategy to get highly efficient solar vehicles to market. We believe that this stronger focus and stepwise approach will be the fastest way to impact,” Hoefsloot tells Silicon Canals.

Currently, the Dutch company produces solar panels in Venray. It can produce 100,000 solar roofs per year in the factory shared with car roof maker Inalfa. Approximately 20 employees work at Layer.

Sunbo investment, Lightyear 2, and more

In August, Lightyear was reportedly in discussions with South Korean investor Sunbo for a proposed investment of €3.5M.

Clarifying about the deal, Hoefsloot says, “Sunbo’s investment has not been finalised yet. The news originally leaked and was not communicated via our official communication channels. We are still in the process of rounding off the deal with Sunbo.”

Regarding Lightyear 2, Hoefsloot says the company is actively exploring strategies to revive it, with a firm ambition to introduce highly efficient solar vehicles. 

What happened?

Earlier this year, the company decided to suspend the production of Lightyear 0 after Atlas Technologies BV, which is responsible for the production of Lightyear 0, declared bankruptcy. 

In March, the Dutch company announced its plans to set up a new company and raised enough funding to create a solid capital base from the Individual Investors Group (IIG). 

As a part of the process, the company also announced that its Intellectual Property (IP) will be brought to the new company as collateral for all stakeholders. 

Invest-NL, leading the consortium of former IP pledge holders, agreed to accommodate this for the new company.

Rotterdam-based umob, a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform, announced on Thursday that it has raised €6M from several investors. 

The Dutch company says it will use the funds to advance its mission of making alternative modes of transportation appealing and accessible to a broader audience while expanding its reach internationally. 

Raymon Pouwels, co-founder of umob, says, “We are investing in connecting all mobility providers to our platform, many of which operate internationally. Our platform is therefore prepared to offer our service internationally and for tourists we are easy to find and use. Our ambition is to add five countries to the platform in the next five years, starting with Belgium next year.”

The announcement follows a €2M raise in 2022 at the launch of the platform. 

umob: What you need to know

Founded by Raymon Pouwels and Bibi Jorissen, umob is a MaaS platform that combines all mobility providers through full integrations into one app and puts the traveler first. 

In August 2023, umob released their app which consolidated all travel options in the Netherlands into one platform. 

With full integration, users can plan, book, and pay for their trips all within the app, eliminating the need to use multiple individual apps from providers.

The platform aims to combat traffic jams, congestion, emissions, and an abundance of parked cars by providing an uncomplicated alternative to owning a vehicle. 

In addition to public transportation and taxis, the MaaS app has also integrated all shared transportation. 

Raymon Pouwels, co-founder umob, says, “To make shared mobility a good alternative to private transportation, which is a frequent source of pollution, the cause of ever-increasing traffic jams, and more and more full parking lots – there must always be a vehicle at your disposal within a three-minute walk. Due to factors such as regulations, a transportation provider can’t manage this on its own. A MaaS app makes all the difference here: with all providers in one app, you always have a transportation option within walking distance.”

Umob aims to provide a comprehensive and accessible mobility platform while also assisting municipalities in integrating shared mobility.

The Dutch company aims to increase shared mobility acceptance through collaboration, including identifying optimal mobility hub locations, mediating provider relationships, and exchanging data.

Bibi Jorissen, co-founder umob, says, “Offering a large and diverse range of services is only one aspect important to the success of shared transport. Practical elements such as parking spaces, hotspots, and nuisances are at least as important. With the anonymised data and knowledge we collect from all carriers and travel movements, we are a central stakeholder in municipalities, providers, and companies. Together we must ensure that we are shaping the transportation of the future in the right way.”

Barcelona-based Caravelo, a travel-tech company that provides subscription solutions to the travel industry, announced on Thursday that it has secured €3.5M in a Series A round of funding.

The investment was led by Samaipata, an early-stage founder’s fund investing across Europe, with the participation of Luxembourg-based Adara Ventures and other existing investors.

Adara Ventures says its decision to expand its investment in Caravelo is influenced by several factors, including the growing demand for Caravelo’s solutions and the success stories of clients like Alaska and Volaris.

“Leaders in travel subscription solutions”

Founded in 2015 by Iñaki Uriz and José Luis Vilar, Caravelo is a traveltech company providing subscription solutions to the travel industry, including airlines. 

The company’s services help its clients increase revenue, improve market share, enhance crisis resilience, reduce seasonality impact, and enhance customer experiences. 

As a SaaS company, Caravelo specialises in flight subscription solutions and claims to be globally recognised as the only company capable of creating and managing genuine flight subscription programmes.

The Barcelona-based company has worked with over 20 airlines, including Volaris, Alaska Airlines and Wizz Air.

According to Caravelo, the current funding has been driven by a string of commercial achievements. These include pioneering the first all-you-can-fly subscription in Latin America and introducing the first true flight subscription programme in Europe.

Capital utilisation

Uriz says, “This investment will give Caravelo the tools it needs to meet the growing demand for travel subscriptions, allowing us to continue the expansion of the team and the development of our platform.”

Luis Vilar highlighted Caravelo’s recent success as part of a broader trend, including over 100 per cent year-on-year revenue growth for the past three years and a 50 per cent increase in company valuation over the last year. 

Brief about the investors

Samaipata is a European early-stage founders’ fund founded in 2016. It invests in digital businesses with network effects and has a presence in Madrid, Paris, and London. With two investment funds and over €150M in AUM, the firm has supported 35 European companies to date.

Luis Garay, Partner at Samaipata, says, “Caravelo’s product is miles ahead from anything else out there, and is the only logical, enterprise-grade, choice for travel subscriptions. The company’s positioning as an industry leader, and its impressive pipeline, makes it a very attractive investment for us.”

Adara Ventures is a European VC firm with a €200M fund that invests in ambitious early-stage companies. Their portfolio covers various sectors, including cybersecurity, data applications, DevOps, hardware components, digital health, and the energy transition.

Ross Strachan, Principal at Adara Ventures, says, “Caravelo is well-positioned to take advantage of the increasing popularity of travel subscriptions, and we are proud to continue supporting the team through this next phase of growth.”

Milton Keynes, UK-based Envisics, a dynamic holographic technology company, announced on Wednesday, September 6, that it has closed its Series C round of funding at $100M (approximately €93M).

In March this year, Envisics announced the first $50M tranche led by Hyundai Mobis, with additional investments from InMotion Ventures, the investment arm of Jaguar Land Rover, and Stellant.

The latest funding round was led by new investor M&G Investments, with participation from existing investors, including Van Tuyl Companies.

The UK company says it will use the funds to accelerate product development and international expansion.

“Envisics continues to attract extremely high-quality strategic investors to the company,” says Dr Jamieson Christmas, CEO and founder of Envisics., 

“We continue to make great progress on developing and delivering dynamic holography as a viable product at scale to the world’s leading automakers. The vote of confidence from M&G Investments, together with our recently expanded group of investors, speaks to the significant growth potential for our technology as part of the transformation set to disrupt next generation mobility experiences,” adds Christmas.  

Following the Series C financing round, the ownership structure includes strategic investors Tarsadia Investments, GM Ventures, Hyundai Mobis, Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion Ventures, Stellantis Ventures, SAIC Motors, Van Tuyl Companies, and M&G Investment.

Envisics: Dynamic holography pioneer

Founded by Dr Jamieson Christmas, Envisics is a dynamic holography pioneer, developing holographic technologies for augmented reality head-up displays (AR-HUDs) and automotive sensor systems. 

The Head-up Display (HUD) projects various information, including dashboard gauges details, key parameters like speed, fuel level, and much more, onto a car’s  windshield, allowing drivers to keep heads-up and focus on the roads. 

The company’s technology harnesses the power of holography and laser-based light sources to provide the accurate image quality. 

On top of that, the dynamic holography platform delivers augmented reality imagery on multiple planes and at different distances, simultaneously.

It adapts instantly to ambient light changes, enhancing the view of the road ahead regardless of light and weather conditions. Envisics-enabled HUD consumes 50 per cent less power deploying light when and where it is required

Mitchell Caplan, President of Tarsadia Investments and Chairman of Envisics Inc., says, “To have such a strong close to our Series C strategic funding round is a testament to the momentum built by Dr. Christmas and the team at Envisics. We were an early investor in Envisics, and we welcome the very impressive roster of returning and new investors in this round.”

Bayern-based e-mobilio, a cloud-based recommendation and buying platform that helps drivers switch to electric mobility, announced on Tuesday, that it has secured €9.5M in a Series A round of funding.

The investment was led by Amsterdam-based SET Ventures, with participation from existing investors Übermorgen Ventures, Wi Venture, seed+speed Ventures, Gateway Ventures, and German family office zwei.7. 

Dr. Till Stenzel, Partner at SET Ventures says, “At SET, we believe EV adoption is entering a new stage, transitioning from early adopters to mass market. This is radically reshaping the dynamics of EV sales and consumer engagement in the process.”

“e-mobilio’s success in the conservative German car market illustrates how critical this role is today, and that will be an excellent basis to drive international growth and contribute to the EU’s CO2-emission reduction targets.”

The road to electromobility

Founded in 2019 by Ralph Missy and Denis Reichel, e-mobilio provides a holistic solution for electric vehicle buyers, offering services beyond just the car itself.

The company’s e-purchase advisor assists buyers in finding essential services like chargers, installation, public charging, electricity tariffs, subsidies, and more, tailored to individual needs, reflecting the changing landscape of car purchases in the electric mobility era.

Ralph Missy says, “By providing holistic advice across the entire EV ecosystem, you not only satisfy your customers’ needs, but you can also create a unique customer experience and increase customer loyalty while securing valuable additional revenue streams across all components of the EV ecosystem.”

e-mobilio claims to be a leading partner for the automotive distribution sector, providing a full-service solution. They have over 350 car dealer groups as customers in Germany and Austria, along with partnerships with car manufacturers like Toyota and insurance companies like HUK Coburg.

Capital utilisation

e-mobilio claims it has achieved a strong market presence in Germany. With its successful entry into the Austrian market, the company is poised to expand further into other European markets. 

“With this capital, we will drive international growth to resolve the two bottlenecks of electric mobility: personalised advisory and optimal fulfilment for end customers. These provide a seamless customer journey and an accelerated EV adoption,” says Denis Reichel.

Brief about the lead investor

SET Ventures, established in 2007, is a European energy venture capital investor. The firm supports the development of a carbon-free energy system by providing capital, fostering a community, and offering valuable insights to visionary founders. 

Its goal is to enable both financial and impact-driven returns, emphasising a commitment to sustainable and environmentally friendly energy solutions.

SET Ventures has a notable track record in the energy sector, marked by successful exits. They were early supporters of Epyon, a fast-charging company, which was subsequently acquired by ABB. Additionally, the firm backed Greenflux, a software platform for electric vehicle (EV) chargepoint management, which was later acquired by DKV.

London-based LAVOIE, a premium e-mobility company backed by McLaren Applied, announced on Thursday that it has acquired bankrupt Amsterdam-based premium e-bike manufacturer VanMoof.

The announcement comes a few days after Istanbul-based BinBin, a micro- and shared-mobility provider, submitted a non-binding offer to acquire VanMoof.

The Agreement

According to the agreement, LAVOIE and McLaren Applied will provide stability to VanMoof’s operations through their acquisition. 

They will then combine their premium capabilities to create a next-generation e-mobility business, establishing a premium e-mobility offering.

The strategic move is part of LAVOIE’s global growth strategy to redefine premium e-mobility and transform movement in busy urban areas for a more enjoyable, active lifestyle.

The expansion will include e-bikes in addition to LAVOIE’s existing e-scooter operation, creating a synergy that aims to redefine urban mobility through automotive engineering.

This acquisition will allow this expanded company to tap into the leadership of McLaren Applied.

Nick Fry, Chairman of McLaren Applied, says, “The acquisition of VanMoof underscores our commitment to strengthen and grow our world-leading e-mobility business. We see a huge potential to transform the way people travel around the congested cities of the world more actively and enjoyably.”

“This exciting deal helps us to accelerate global growth, allowing us to increase the scale and quality of products and services we can offer to our customers. We are fully committed to being leaders in manufacturing premium e-mobility products that are redefining the category with each ride,” he adds.

LAVOIE: Subsidiary of McLaren Applied

LAVOIE, a subsidiary of McLaren Applied, is on a mission to improve personal mobility. 

The UK company says it combines premium automotive heritage with engineering and science to innovate products that enhance personal transportation.

The e-mobility company aims to revolutionise urban mobility with high-end design and superlative performance, establishing itself as a major player in the premium e-mobility market.

Eliott Wertheimer, CEO of LAVOIE, says, “With its next generation of e-bikes, smart technology, innovative design, and loyal customer base, VanMoof and Lavoie fit together perfectly. VanMoof has 190,000 customers globally and our commitment is to continue to keep those riders on the road whilst we stabilise and efficiently grow the VanMoof business and continue to develop its world-class products.”

The Netherlands-based Goboony, a peer-to-peer campervan rental, announced on Friday, August 25, that it has merged with its French competitor Yescapa. 

The combined platform now boasts a fleet of 30,000 vehicles across Europe, positioning it as the region’s largest motorhome sharing platform, following closely behind US-based platforms RVshare and Outdoorsy globally.

The decision to merge was driven by the growing demand for motorhome travel in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has led to an increased interest in slow and local travel experiences close to nature, says the company. 

Fundraising on cards

The merger results in the creation of a holding company with all four co-founders, Mark de Vos, Foppe Mijnlieff, Benoit Panel, and Adrien Pinson, led by Sergio Branco. 

The companies say that the ambitious move is just the beginning, as Yescapa and Goboony plan to expand further into new countries and make outdoor travel more widespread and accessible. 

To support their expansion plans and the growth of the platform, Goboony and Yescapa are preparing for a new round of fundraising. This follows a recent investment of €7M led by iXO Private Equity and existing shareholders.

Yescapa: Catering to Southern Europe

Founded in 2012 by Benoît Panel and Adrien Pinson, Yescapa is a marketplace for motorhome and campervan travel, mainly in Southern Europe. 

“Being in close contact since 2018, the friendship between Yescapa and Goboony reinforces trust in this exciting journey, built upon shared values as our solid foundation. With this transformative merger, we are thrilled to shape the future of outdoor tourism for unforgettable campervan adventures and increase the value provided to our community,” says Benoit Panel, CEO of Yescapa.

Goboony: Catering to Northern Europe

Founded in 2015 by Mark de Vos and Foppe Mijnlieff, Goboony is a campervan rental company that aims to make motorhome road trips accessible, mainly in Northern Europe.

“As we unite our forces, we envision consolidating multiple companies in the motorhome rental industry, connecting several amazing brands and functionalities to one gateway in the coming years. This merger is a game-changer for anyone who enjoys outdoor holidays, as it will make it much easier to plan and book a hassle-free getaway all over Europe,” says Mark de Vos, CEO of Goboony.

Istanbul-based BinBin, a micro- and shared-mobility provider, announced on Wednesday, August 23, that it has submitted a non-binding offer to acquire bankrupt Amsterdam-based electric bicycle company VanMoof.

The announcement follows the purchase of Utrecht-based Go Sharing in February this year and the successful continuation of operations in more than ten cities in the Netherlands.

BinBin has made a no-obligation offer and is preparing to present its binding offer. Financial details have not been disclosed.

BinBin, a subsidiary of 1000 Yatirimlar Holding AS, aims to close the deal in the coming weeks.

BinBin: Providing affordable transit options

Founded in 2019 by Kadir Abdik and Hüseyin Ardan Küçük, BinBin is a micro-mobility technology company that provides affordable, useful transit options.

The company runs more than 25,000 shared scooters to more than 3 million users in several Eastern European nations.

The company deploys vehicles made with domestic software and engineering under its brand, developing alternate methods of transit that are both useful and sustainable

Micromobility’s rejection

Earlier this month, US-based Micromobility.com’s non-binding bid to acquire bankrupt VanMoof was rejected by its trustees.

The bid came after the Dutch company declared bankruptcy and the court of Amsterdam lifted a suspension of payment proceedings for VanMoof Global Holding BV, VanMoof BV, and VanMoof Global Support BV. 

The court’s decision was driven by the Dutch entities’ financial constraints and inability to meet their liabilities.

VanMoof also filed for insolvency in the UK. The Dutch company confirmed through an email to its customers that the company is undergoing a Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation in the UK.