US-based electric motor technology producer Turntide Technologies closed $225m in convertible note financing yesterday from a pool of investors including JLL Spark, an investment subsidiary of real estate manager JLL.
The round also featured Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Monashee Investment Management, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Captain Planet and Suvretta Capital Management.
Turntide, which previously operated as Software Motor Company, produces electric motors equipped with switched reluctance technology, intelligent automation and cloud connectivity that it claims are more cost-effective and energy-efficient than traditional alternating current induction motors.
The company’s patented smart motor system is able to reduce energy consumption by nearly 64% and is free of environmentally damaging rare earth minerals required by high-efficiency permanent magnet motors.
The latest round boosted Turntide’s total funding to $400m, it said. The financing will support the development of a new cloud-based technology due to be released this year that is expected to improve customer experience and reduce maintenance costs across commercial and industrial markets.
The capital will also boost the growth and development of Turntide’s transport business line for commercial and industrial electric vehicles which was launched earlier this month.
The company raised $80m in a March 2021 round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and backed by e-commerce and cloud computing group Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, venture capital firm Fifth Wall’s Climate Technology Fund, FootPrint Coalition Ventures, Keyframe Capital and Captain Planet.
Amazon Climate Pledge Fund joined private investor Tony Fadell in a $33m round for Turntide in September 2020, eight months after BMW i Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of car manufacturer BMW, joined undisclosed investors in a $25m round for the company.
Turntide had previously raised $31.4m in a series A-2 round in mid-2019 featuring JLL Spark, Meson Capital and undisclosed strategic investors.