Italian mobility startup Blubrake banks $6 million for braking system that makes e-bikes safer

Blubrake, an Italian e-mobility company that's developed a safe anti-lock braking system (ABS) for electric bikes, has secured $6 million in Series A funding from e-Novia, the deep tech startup factory where Blubrake was founded. Other backers include Progress Tech Transfer, a VC fund for sustainable technologies, as well as some private investors: Andrea Perin, Managing Director at Banca Finint, and Michele Scannavini, President at Italian Trade Agency and at e-Novia.

ABS makes for a safer cycling experience: the front wheel won’t lock up and the bike won’t flip over. Instead the rider stays more stable, with more freedom to move, while using the brakes.

Two things make Blubrake’s solution unique: the technology for actually reducing the bike's speed is patented and derives from Formula 1 and motorcycle racing experience, and it can be fully integrated into the bike frame. This makes it suitable for any line of e-bikes or e-cargo bikes. Plus, the startup adds, some global manufacturers have already chosen the system, including the Swedish company Crescent and the German maker Bulls. The Milan-based startup, which has raised over $10 million in total, was founded in late 2015 by Fabio Todeschini, together with e-Novia and a group of professors and researchers from Politecnico di Milano. In 2018 the EU Commission selected the company for the EU Horizon 2020 program, and last year the team won a Eurobike award for best bike components.

“We have discussions underway with most of the top e-bike manufacturers and we target a market that has a turnover of more than $20 billion,” says Todeschini, the company’s General Manager. The fresh funding will go to expanding the product range “with more mechatronic e-mobility solutions”, and accelerating the industrial and commercial arms of the business. Photo: Fabio Todeschini, founder and GM of Blubrake