Exclusive: Stockholm-based electric boat maker X Shore has received €5 million in new capital, and ramped up its leadership team in its quest to deliver on the vision the company's founder developed back in the 1990s.
The investment was led by Peter Dahlberg, former Group CEO of European animal hospital operator AniCura, who thus becomes the second largest shareholder in X Shore after its founder and now-president Konrad Bergström.
A serial entrepreneur and formerly founder of Zound Industries, Bergström says he first had the idea for X Shore in the nineties when battery technology wasn’t really up to snuff, and people were still "happily whizzing around in their diesel motor boats, without a care in the world" in his words.
But the technology has now caught up, Bergström posits, and the likes of Greta Thunberg have hammered home the message and 'finally made sustainability cool'.
To help realise his vision of producing fully electric, silent boats at scale, the startup has attracted Jenny Keisu, most recently Partner at investment firm Summa Equity, to serve as X Shore's new CEO, while former Northvolt president of Battery Systems, Oscar Fors, has joined as its COO.
The fresh capital will be used to continue the development of the company’s high-speed electric 5.8-metre and 8-metre boats, grow the team and bolster its new facilities in Stockholm before expanding to the UK and other parts of Europe. Bergström says X Shore has a "strong order book and growing demand for our boats", making it the ideal time to raise funding.
The company previously raised €1.5 million in crowdfunding.
Lead investor Peter Dahlberg, comments: "I’ve followed Konrad and his career from the sidelines for many years, and he is clearly an outstanding innovator and visionary with a strong track record of success. Konrad has convinced me that X Shore can and will deliver on a global scale and I am very excited to contribute to the next stage of X Shore’s development and growth."
Bergström, who started X Shore in 2016, says he intends to continue to spearhead the company’s mission to bring sustainability and innovation to the maritime sector by remaining heavily involved in its design, brand building, and marketing efforts alongside the new leadership team and investor.
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