US-based electronic cigarette producer Moti has closed its series A round at $50m having secured additional funds from SIG Asia, an investment vehicle for quantitative trading firm Susquehanna International Group, PEdata has reported.
Venture capital firm MSA Capital had led the $31m first tranche of the round in July this year, following $10m in pre-series A funding from VC firm ZhenFund in January 2019 according to China Money Network.
Moti produces e-cigarettes that utilise ceramic heating technology, with pods available in 11 flavours. It also provides a smaller, disposable model called the Mojo with an amount of vape juice approximate to about 20 cigarettes.
The company’s website claims it is based in Las Vegas, however Chinese media reports state that Moti was founded in November 2018 under the official name of Shenzhen Leiyan Technology.
Moti is currently the second largest e-cigarette brand in China, behind only Relx, according to investment media and research company EqualOcean, which in turn cited research by Landong Consumption. It generated RMB140m ($20.9m) in revenue in Q1 2019, making RMB10m of profit.
The funding was closed amidst widespread media coverage of health issues that may be linked to vaping as well as an increasingly strict regulatory crackdown in the US. The largest US brand, Juul, began selling its products in China earlier this month, only for them to be withdrawn from sale shortly afterwards for unknown reasons.
Image courtesy of Moti.
