Using ‘industrial origami’ to produce e-motorcycles, STILRIDE raises €3 million

Sweden’s STILRIDE has raised €3 million in a seed round and intends to roll out a fleet of sustainable electric motorcycles. Employing a manufacturing technique so dubbed, ‘industrial origami’, the startup uses robots that are able to fold single sheets of steel into highly detailed, lightweight, and durable structures, in this case, e-motorcycles. The company expects to deliver its first shipment to some 90,000 waiting European customers later this year. STILRIDE has raised a total of €4.4 million.

It would appear as though the future of e-motorcycles is quickly coming of age. At least in Sweden. With next-door-neighbour CAKE also producing and presumably iterating on its own version of e-motocycles, STILRIDE now joins the pack, and does so with an innovative production process.

Founded in March of 2020 by Tue Beijer (who has worked under the tutelage of legendary industry figure Giotto Bizzarrini, creator of the 250 GTO and the Lamborghini V12 engine) and Jonas Nyvang, whose backgrounds span the worlds of fashion, industrial design, and engineering, STILRIDE’s STILFOLD technology uses the principles of industrial origami to craft the chassis and body of the company’s rides.

In so much, not only does this manufacturing process significantly reduce the environmental impact of production, but it results in one rather futuristic-looking whip at the same time. Dare I say, if Elon were to have a crack at motorcycles (instead of trucks), STILRIDE’s creations would be fairly close to what would arrive at the end of Mr. Musk’s production line.

With that in mind, STILRIDE is testing the waters with two wheels, as the duo Beijer and Nyvang are already investigating the possibilities of cargo bikes and trailers to be added to the lineup. Presumably, if successful, could some four, ten, and/or 18 wheeled options be next?

“STILRIDE sits at the intersection of technology, mobility and design. My co-founder Tue first introduced the idea for the scooter to me at a dinner in 2019. He sketched out how it could be manufactured using origami folding and built a model out of paper,” explained Beijer. “It’s surreal to have now created a high-spec electric motorcycle that’s true to that original vision. It meets our commitment to sustainability whilst also having a radical and distinctive design identity.”

The €3 million seed round was joined by angel and private investors that include Gustaf Hagman, Saeid Esmaeilizadeh, Sam Bonnier, and Andreas Adler.

“There is a very strong team behind this whole solution, which made the choice to invest easy. They have found a solution to build lighter electric vehicles which is a key challenge for the whole transportation industry. In addition, the first product's place in the market is a total no-brainer,” concludes investor Saeid Esmaeilizadeh.