Technology

Posted on October 22, 2018 by staff

Electric bike start-up eyes UK launch after $10m raise

Technology

An electric bike start-up has closed a $10 million round of Series A funding.

Cowboy, based in Belgium, designs innovative electric bikes for urban riders and launched its products in its home market in April.

The round, led by Tiger Global Management alongside Index Ventures and Hardware Club, will help the company scale operations and expand into new European markets including the UK, Germany, Netherlands and France.

In Europe alone, 21 million electric bikes are sold annually.

“We designed the Cowboy bike to appeal specifically to people who are yet to be convinced that electric bikes are a practical and mainstream mode of transport,” said co-founder and CEO Adrien Roose.

“We focused our attention on the three main reasons people are reluctant to purchase electric bikes: high cost, poor design and redundant technology – and then we set about to solve for those issues.”

Cowboy won an award at the 2017 EuroBike trade fair, where its bike was cited for it design, light weight and value for money.

“With superior design, concept and technology, Cowboy has transformed the consumer experience of electric bikes to be super easy, practical and stylish,” said Lee Fixel, partner, Tiger Global Management.

“We look forward to supporting the team as they spread their vision of urban commuting across Europe.”

Additional investors include Oscar Salazar (Uber), Thibaud Elziere (eFounders), Bertrand Jelensperger (LaFourchette), Harold Mechelynck (Ogone), Frederic Potter (Netatmo) and Francis Nappez (BlaBlaCar).