US-based electric scooter provider Gogoro closed a $300m series C round yesterday that included diversified conglomerate Sumitomo, energy utility Engie and consumer electronics producer Panasonic.
Singaporean state-owned investment vehicle Temasek, investment firm Generation Investment Management and Samuel Yin, chairman of conglomerate Ruentex, also took part in the round, which valued Gogoro at more than $800m, CEO Horace Luke told Forbes.
Founded in 2011, Gogoro has developed a smart electric scooter as well as a battery-swapping network for its customers, both of which were launched in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, in 2015.
The company has since sold 34,000 scooters and established more than 400 battery-swapping stations across Taiwan and Europe, where it recently launched in the cities of Berlin and Paris.
Samuel Yin and Cher Wang, co-founder of electronics manufacturer HTC, supplied a reported $50m for Gogoro in 2011, before Panasonic, Yin and the state-backed National Development Fund of Taiwan added $130m in a series B round in late 2015.
Isabelle Kocher, Engie’s chief executive, said: “Mobility is a key issue for our major cities, which by 2050 will be home to 67% of the world’s population.
“At Engie, we are contributing to the creation of a new form of mobility that is more fluid, cleaner and more economical in cities and regions throughout the world. This investment in Gogoro illustrates our conviction that mobility is changing and that Gogoro’s solutions are promising.”
– Image courtesy of Gogoro Inc.