Summary
Podbike's mission is to redefine urban mobility. Our 4 wheeled ebike has full weather protection and room for cargo or a child. With 50% of all car journeys less than 5km, Podbike is being designed for the cities of tomorrow. With 3500 pre-orders, we are raising for market expansion and to develop our product ecosystem.
- Growing 3,500 pre-orders and more than 32,000 e-mail subscribers.
- International attention received for design and tech platform.
- 2 years of road testing and almost 1,000 customer test rides done.
- Aim to start production of first order in Q3’22 (NO and DE).
Idea
Driving cars cause congestion and pollution. With an estimated 70% of the population living in cities by 2050, it is likely to get worse.
50% of all car trips are shorter than 5km and most of these can easily be replaced by cycling. E-bikes are increasing in popularity but we believe they suffer shortcomings as a real alternative for cars in daily life.
Designed to benefit from bike lane access, our 4-wheeled and fully covered e-bike comes with room for cargo or a child. It can offer an attractive, practical, safe and sustainable alternative for your daily commute.
We aim to redefine urban mobility by making cycling attractive - every day and in any weather.
In 2020, 1 in 4 small vehicles sold in Europe were e-bikes with almost 2 million sold in Germany alone. E-bike sales have a forecasted annual growth of 14% over the next 10 years. The global market for small format (2-3 wheel) EVs is expected to be €132bn in 2022.
We’ve built a business ready for rapid scaling by taking advantage of current trends around urbanisation, sustainability and green mobility. Our first product FRIKAR will retail at €6,250/ea plus tax/duties once we launch it.
The proceeds for this round will be invested in 3 key areas:
- Growth and market expansion
- Business infrastructure & optimisation
- Further development of product portfolio and digital ecosystem
Team
We are a talented team driven by sustainability and dedicated to re-define urban mobility. The team has a broad international background and a management with international track record. The team currently counts 14 full time members and 3 consultants.
Åge Højmark, CEO/COO
Over 20 years experience within business, operations and aftermarket (Laerdal Medical, Rolls-Royce).
Per Hassel Sørensen, CTO and Founder
Over 30 years experience in product development within SW, electronics and mechanical (Zaptec, Roxar, Applied Plasma Physics).
Anne-Lise Heggland, CFO and Co-Founder
Over 25 years experience within finance and financial control (Odfjell, Kverneland Group).
Janet Usken, Head of Marketing (Part-time)
Over 10 years experience within marketing, social media and e-commerce (Trollweb, Netpower Web Solutions).
Henry Khov, Head of Engineering (joining July’22)
Over 10 years experience in engineering within quality/reliability, mechanical and electronics (NOV, Visuray).
Frank Thieme, Head of Customer Care (joining June’22)
10 years experience in vehicle support and service (Lime, Tesla).
Funds from this round will allow us to continue to attract global talent to ensure the capacity and competency required to deliver on our ambitions. We are currently recruiting for a number of positions including CRO/CSO and Head of Digital.