LM Industries,
חברת האם של Local Motors -
היצרנית הראשונה והיחידה בעולם של רכב דיגיטלי - הודיעה היום על גיוס של 15 מיליון
דולר מ-Mirai Creation Fund II
(שמנוהלת על ידי SPARX Group Co., Ltd,
חברת ניהול הנכסים היפנית). המימון הזה יעזור ל-Local
Motors לספק Olli ללקוחות וצרכנים שמחפשים דרכים להגדיר מחדש את הניידות המקומית.
LM Industries
Announces $15M Funding from SPARX Group to deliver Olli to customers and
consumers
Local
Motors will empower communities to create opportunities for its citizens by
providing innovative and locally relevant vehicles, such as Olli, and mobility solutions
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)
:
LM Industries, the
parent company of Local Motors – the world’s first and only digital vehicle
manufacturer – today announced a $15 million raise from Mirai Creation Fund II
(managed by SPARX Group Co., Ltd, the Japanese asset management firm). This
financing will help Local Motors deliver Olli to customers and consumers who
are seeking ways to redefine local mobility.
“When SPARX
considers partnering with new businesses, we are committed to finding great
companies, like Local Motors, with intentions and abilities to make the world a
better place,” said Shuhei Abe, CEO of SPARX Group.
“Local Motors has
a unique advantage to quickly deliver impactful products that can revolutionize
the automotive and mobility industry,” said Seiji Miyasaka, President of SPARX
Capital Investments, Inc., a US subsidiary of SPARX Group and new Local Motors
board member. “At a time when the world is changing faster than ever, we’re
thrilled to be working with a company that can evolve with it.”
This latest
funding will be used to drive product development, production and deployment
for Olli, the world’s first 3D-printed, electric, self-driving shuttle. Since
entering series production for Olli 2.0, its latest iteration and the third
generation of the Local Motors manufacturing line, the company has seen a
significant resurgence in interest for safe and reliable transportation,
recently deploying the first ever Olli 2.0 at the AZ Maria Middelares hospital
in Ghent, Belgium and delivering the first 2.0 in the United States to
Jacksonville Transportation Authority at the AV Test & Learn track at
Armsdale.
“We share a dream
with SPARX Group to completely reimagine the mobility and automotive industry,
with the goal to truly move society forward in a profound way,” said Jay
Rogers, co-founder and CEO of Local Motors. “Delivering innovative and locally
relevant vehicles and mobility solutions has been at the core of our company
from the beginning, and we look forward to pushing the industry to be a more
clean, customer-centric business. SPARX’s investment, which includes Toyota
Motor Corporation and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation as seed LPs for the
Mirai Creation Fund II, proves that our commitment to low-speed autonomy and
digital manufacturing can make a direct impact in the world through cleaner
manufacturing and better mobility experiences for all.”
Throughout the
pandemic, Local Motors has continued to address the need for clean and safe
autonomy. In July, the company announced a partnership with Beep, the
Florida-based Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) provider, with plans to deploy
hundreds of autonomous vehicles in the coming years. Additionally, Local Motors
made significant strides in validating the safety of its vehicles this year,
proving that its 3D-printed structure performs at an equivalent level to
traditionally manufactured vehicles during crash testing.
“Our partnership
with Beep, improved crash testing process, and distinct manufacturing method
puts Local Motors in a unique position capable of meeting consumers’ constantly
changing needs around the world today and in the future,” said Rogers.
"This funding will help propel our vision forward, and continue making a
difference in our communities."
About
Local Motors
Local Motors
empowers communities to create and manufacture opportunity. We provide
innovative and locally relevant vehicles and mobility solutions. We have the
unrivaled capacity to make the improbable come to life and are focused on
delivering Olli to customers and consumers around the world. LM Industries is
the parent company of Local Motors.
About Mirai
Creation Fund I and Mirai Creation Fund II
The Mirai Creation
Fund I began operations in November 2015 with financing of JPY 13.5 billion
from three companies: Toyota Motor Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking
Corporation, and SPARX, the Fund’s general partner. Ultimately, the Fund
received contributions from 20 companies, including the above three. Casting
intelligent technologies, robotics, and hydrogen-economy technologies as core
technologies of the future, Fund I has invested in approximately 50 companies
and projects—from the US, the UK, Israel, Singapore, and Japan—that possess
innovative technologies in these fields. In H2 2018, SPARX began managing the
Mirai Creation Fund II, which targets the three existing Mirai Creation fields
along with the two additional areas of electrification and new materials. As of
June 30, 2020, the combined AUM for Fund I and Fund II were JPY 109.3 billion.
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