Wheeling round

Massachusetts-based transportation robotics company Superpedestrian has completed a $16.5m funding round which it says it will use to bring to market its technologies for electric-bike sharing.

The new financing comes from investors Charles Kim of Extol Capital, Spark Capital, General Catalyst and other investors. This brings Superpedestrian’s total investment to nearly $44m.

Superpedestrian has developed a product called the “Copenhagen Wheel” – a battery-powered device which brings extra propulsion to the user’s bike.

Superpedestrian is targeting fleet operators (such as ride-hailing companies) rather individual users. The company says that its built-in self-diagnostic systems make it particulary suitable for the fleet market.

In a statement issued today (23 May), Assaf Biderman, the CEO of Superpedestrian, explained: “Superpedestrian’s technology overcomes major issues faced by the industry.

“Our e-bikes autonomously manage themselves through onboard diagnostics, self-protection, and self-calibration, and then connect to a remote maintenance system that can service the entire fleet. If you rely mostly on users to report that something is broken, that’s too late. We know what’s going on inside each of our e-bikes and can resolve most issues before they occur.”

Superpedestrian’s fleet offering also includes a cloud-based service for efficient deployment of maintenance and battery-swapping operations, and the company’s technology can similarly be applied to shared scooters and mopeds.