Germany mobility electric motorbike startup NOVUS announced funding this week, led by 468 Capital. The startup aims to redefine urban mobility and attract non-motorbike riders.
Already more than 45 per cent of pre-orders and more than 400 potential customers on the test ride waiting list are non-motorbike riders. The NOVUS e-bike is a hybrid of a bicycle and a motorbike. It weighs only 108 kg, but it has 25 kW peak power and 400 nm torque —unique for the 125cc class.
The company is founded by René Renger who worked as a designer at Volkswagen until 2019 and was lead interior designer for vehicles such as the VW Golf 8, Polo and ID. Buzz. During this time, he developed the first prototype together with current NOVUS co-CTO Marcus Weidig, which the two presented at CES in Las Vegas in 2019.
Tesla and Elon Musk's office wanted to acquire the prototype, but the two refused. After realising the potential significance of their concept, René founded NOVUS GmbH and is now working with his passionate team to shape the future of mobility.
NOVUS founder and CEO René Renger says the iconic Lightbike is designed to create an "iPhone moment" and make NOVUS an “Apple of mobility.”
468 Capital has investments in the mobility industry, including the German battery developer CustomCells, which supplies customised premium battery technology for manufacturers such as Lilium and Porsche. CustomCells CEO Dirk Abendroth is also an advisor and angel investor at NOVUS. Further, 468’s presence through local General Partner Florian Leibert will open the US market up for NOVUS.
In the coming weeks, NOVUS will finalise the funding round and integrate the last selected angels and co-investors into its shareholder ecosystem.
It follows the NOVUS team signing a convertible in March and starting the EU certification process.
The capital raised will be used over the next few months to help gain regulatory certification of the lightbike, the industrialisation of production and the market launch in DACH and Europe.
Lead image: NOVUS founder and CEO René Renger. Photo: uncredited.
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