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Electric motorcycle company Zero is in the process of closing a new funding round for a little bit more than $120 million, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The filing shows that Zero has sold around $100 million of the equity round so far from two undisclosed investors. The company confirmed to TechCrunch that it’s raising the money and that it will be used for expansion and to fund new models, but it declined to offer further specifics.
It’s Zero’s first funding round since the company raised $107 million in 2022 from Polaris and India’s Hero MotoCorp. The company said at the time that it had “all the necessary resources to continue pushing the boundaries of two-wheeled EV’s and electric powertrains.” The company — which is nearly 20 years old — typically refreshes its models every year, though it has been rumored to be working on a mini-bike.
Zero’s raise comes amid some rough waters for electric motorcycle companies. One of the largest, Italy’s Energica, filed for bankruptcy earlier this month after slashing its workforce by 70%. Design-forward e-moto startup Cake filed for bankruptcy in February, though it has emerged with a new owner. Smaller players like Fuell and Sondor have also gone out of business.
Meanwhile, Harley-Davidson’s electric motorcycle spinout Livewire continues to lose money on its own bikes. The company reported on Thursday that it lost $22.7 million in the third quarter and sold just 99 electric motorcycles. Livewire continues to generate more revenue from sales of its electric balance bikes for kids. Those brought in $3.2 million in Q3 versus just $1.2 million from the motorcycles.
Sean O’Kane is a reporter who has spent a decade covering the rapidly-evolving business and technology of the transportation industry, including Tesla and the many startups chasing Elon Musk. Most recently, he was a reporter at Bloomberg News where he helped break stories about some of the most notorious EV SPAC flops. He previously worked at The Verge, where he also covered consumer technology, hosted many short- and long-form videos, performed product and editorial photography, and once nearly passed out in a Red Bull Air Race plane.
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