Apparently, all new manufacturers operating in the industry are in the startup phase.
The valuation is apparently around 60 million now.
EDIT (added by the administrator + at the request of a forum member)
Donut Lab – a revolution in the making
At Donut Lab, we are redefining the future of mobility with revolutionary in-wheel motor technology. Driven by a vision to push the boundaries of electric vehicle (EV) performance, our mission is to create a platform where every component works together seamlessly, delivering unmatched efficiency, control, and performance.
Our flagship innovation, the Donut Motor, is the world’s first-ever in-wheel motor that combines maximum torque and power density with a lightweight design, eliminating the need for traditional drivetrain components. This breakthrough technology forms the cornerstone of a platform that consists of best-in-class components, each designed to excel independently and dominate when combined.
Backed by a team of forward-thinking engineers, designers, and industry experts, Donut Lab focuses on developing solutions that redefine simplicity, enhance performance, and minimize maintenance. Through collaboration with leading partners, we are creating a cohesive ecosystem that transforms electric mobility, offering versatile solutions for industries ranging from automotive to aviation and robotics.
Correction: valuation is now approx. 50 million, if I calculated correctly.
According to the prospectus, another electric bike manufacturer LiveWire sold 597 bikes last year and made a loss of 89 million on 14 million in revenue, and its market cap on the stock exchange is 1.75 billion
In my layman’s view, the problem there is that it’s a convertible bond, not a share subscription. So you can’t “lock in” the share price for yourself right now.
My first thought regarding these companies raising money through Springvest is: couldn’t they find funding from professionals, so now they are looking for it from inexperienced investors?
The product and the company itself are interesting, but I won’t get involved, even though there might be potential there. The main reason is that entering the US market is, as I understand it, really challenging, and €12M won’t go very far. Plus, those bikes are expensive. Then again, Tesla entered the market with an expensive model and brought cheaper ones only later.
I was thinking the same thing. On the other hand, since venture capital channels seem to be a bit frozen at the moment, perhaps the company thought this form of financing was the only option?
Why has calculating the share’s pre-money valuation been made so difficult? You have to calculate the fully diluted share count and use CTRL + F to search high and low through the terms for conversion prices, owners, and special conditions for the next funding round across different documents.
Why are salaries listed as €0 in the interims? Similarly, in the last financial year, personnel expenses were under 200k in the income statement, while the appendices mention them being over 500k.
Since this is a mandatory conversion in the form of a convertible loan, why isn’t this marketed directly as an equity investment with the valuation on the front page? If the idea is to provide a discount on the next round (20%) and add value that way, it would probably be quite relevant to first understand at what valuation level you are subscribing at this moment.
Revenue of 600 million in 2027 and a target of being cash flow positive—how much do these investments cost and how will they be financed?
On what basis is this a “leading player” if the revenue is 13 thousand euros?
I would actually rather subscribe now at share price X, than later at the then-current price minus 20%. Right now, there is no way to benefit from any potential rise in the share price.
Vähäkainu is the Co-founder and CCO, apparently. Mika Häkkinen has been featured heavily in the promotion, so this can certainly gain media visibility if it wants to.
These high-profile “influencers” are the most common trick used when raising money. Almost every Springvest or Invesdor case involves at least a minor celebrity or similar. It’s not worth falling for that trap. For example, since Rovio, Peter “Red Hoodie” has been burning (!) investor money on everything from wooden dildos to space flights, but none of his projects have yielded any results for investors.
I never said at any point that this would be a good investment, nor did I deny what you just said. But if one wants to think of this as “the story of Pikku G’s company,” the ingredients are certainly there.
After all, this thread immediately saw Harleys, Peter Red-hoodies, space flights, and even (Teatimo’s?) dildos right after, making for some very impulse-driven action.
I’ll bow out now. Good luck to both the company and those potentially considering investing their money!
Verge got featured in Kauppalehti. All visibility is good, or is it after all?
EDIT: If you had to choose, which one would you invest €42k in? A Verge motorcycle or Verge shares? Fortunately, Tuomas from the Kauppalehti article has only invested a hundred-euro reservation fee so far.
I haven’t personally invested through convertible bonds before. Admittedly, they’ve managed to make the offering quite confusing. I don’t know if it could be made any more confusing.
So basically, if you participate in the round now, do you still have to pay separately for the subscription in the future?
My understanding is that if the share price was 1 euro at the time of conversion, I would get 10 shares for 10 euros by joining the party then, whereas by paying 10 euros now, I would get 12 shares.
I don’t know if it’s worth the risk. Need to think about it. This funding round hasn’t exactly been a success so far, at least relative to the capital being sought.
This is how I’ve understood it. In practice, you are now investing in a loan, e.g., 10k EUR, on which you get 10% interest, meaning 1k EUR would accumulate in a year. The assumption is that next year there will be a funding round, in which you eventually invest this 10k (+ interest) EUR. At that point, the company’s valuation at that time is determined and you subscribe for common shares with your invested 10+1k EUR, but because you get a 20% discount, you would receive as many shares as if you had invested 13k EUR.
The article reports that the manufacturer of the Arc Vector electric motorcycle has entered liquidation. In the article, the journalist also comments on Verge and expresses doubt that there is any demand.
“Verge representatives promised to call and offer us a bike for a test ride as soon as it was type-approved and registered. Five years have passed since that promise, but not a single contact has come from the manufacturer.”
Verge is active on Instagram, with photos/videos posted almost daily. In the comments, people are inviting them to Monaco for test drives. There was a test drive tour in Finland last summer, but it was fully booked immediately.
The market seems challenging right now, at least judging by the significant price cuts from several electric vehicle manufacturers aimed at boosting demand.
On the motorcycle side, if you follow the interim report of Verge’s competitor, sales volumes are very low, even though there is growth in percentage terms:
Harley-Davidson’s subsidiary, electric motorcycle manufacturer Livewire, sold 117 electric motorcycles, representing an 86% increase compared to the 63 bikes sold in the first quarter of the previous year.
