Diversified conglomerate Virgin has invested an undisclosed amount in US-based transport technology developer Hyperloop One, which will rebrand to Virgin Hyperloop One a part of a strategic partnership deal.
Founded in 2014, Hyperloop One is working on a tube-based electric transport system that has reached speeds of 310km per hour in testing, and which the company believes will eventually be capable of speeds in excess of 1,000km per hour.
Hyperloop One aims to have the first working system up and running by 2021 and is currently testing the technology, which will be used for both passenger and cargo transportation.
Virgin founder and chairman Richard Branson will join the company’s board of directors in connection with its investment, but Hyperloop One will retain control of design, the engineering and development of the technology, business development and strategy.
The partnership is intended to give Hyperloop One more brand visibility, though Virgin, which has holdings in rail and space travel, will not be the only operator of the technology. Hyperloop One co-founder Josh Giegel spent six months at Virgin Galactic prior to launching the company.
Hyperloop One had raised $245m in funding as of its last round, an $85m series B-1 that closed last month at a $700m valuation, and which featured industrial equipment producer General Electric’s GE Ventures unit and Caspian VC Partners, which is part of conglomerate Summa Group.
OurCrowd, Western Technology Investment (WTI) and Khosla Ventures also invested in the series B-1 round, which followed a $50m tranche led by port terminal manager DP World in October 2016.
GE Ventures, rail transportation provider SNCF, Caspian, WTI, Khosla, EightVC, Sherpa Ventures, ZhenFund, 137 Ventures and Fast Digital had previously supplied $80m for Hyperloop One in May 2016.