Ampler Bikes, an Estonian D2C brand that produces and sells light e-bikes, has secured a €7.4M equity funding round on Monday. This round led by Taavet Hinrikus and Sten Tamkivi from Taavet+Sten, joined by Metaplanet, Ambient Sound Investments, and Ragnar Sass, pushed the company’s valuation to €47M.
What Ampler plans to do with the funding?
Ampler aims to establish The Netherlands and Switzerland as the next core markets alongside Germany by opening new showrooms and service centres. A new showroom will open in Haarlemmerbuurt, a vibrant neighbourhood of Amsterdam. In addition to opening a new carbon-neutral factory with the capacity to assemble 100 000 bikes a year, Amper aims to become a role model for environmental sustainability within the cycling industry.
By opening new showrooms and service centres, the company is inclined to continue expanding operations, opening new service centres and its influence on the market by the year 2022, setting The Netherlands and Switzerland as the next core markets alongside Germany. The company aspires to attain a carbon-neutral factory by 2023. Based on the Allied Market Research report, The global e-bike market is expected to reach $118.6 billion by 2030.
Potential to be the next unicorn
With a decades-long vision, Taavet+Sten aims to promote the technology sector in Europe, including Estonia. The experts from the firm are not only investing money but their expertise as well, aiming to support Ampler with robust solutions.
Sten Tamkivi, Partner, Taavet+Sten, says, “As entrepreneurs and leaders, we have been building companies together since high school and have learned that the best way to create value for the world with technology is to be ingenious at solving some very complex problems. Ampler is moving in the right direction to ensure a cleaner planet for us”.
Ragnar Sass, co-founder, Estonian 5th unicorn Pipedrive and active angel investor in Greentech, says, “I joined the Ampler round because they are boosting the most climate-friendly transportation mode – bicycles.”
He believes Ampler e-bikes are the best in the world in terms of quality and service. Furthermore, he thinks the company has everything at its disposal to be the next unicorn.
Ampler also plans on expanding its capacity to assemble 100 000 bikes a year. In addition, Ampler strives to grow into a pioneer for environmental sustainability amongst the cycling industry.
About Ampler
Ampler Bikes was launched in 2016 by Ardo Kaurit, Hannes Laar, and Rait Udumäe. It started as a side project by three founders – a professional motocross racer, an engineer, and a bicycle designer. “We loved playing around with technology and bikes, and we decided to see whether we could build an electric bicycle that’s lightweight, clean-looking, and fun to ride,” the founders mention on Ampler’s website.
The e-bikes have an estimated range of up to 70km per single charge. Via its phone app, users can customise their ride settings and choose the power-assist mode that suits them. The battery and electronics are all concealed within the frame, keeping the look minimal.
Ardo Kaurit, CEO & co-founder, Ampler Bikes, says, “All Ampler e-bikes are hand-assembled in our own factory, as we believe that self-owned assembly will continue to be an important competitive advantage in order to offer the best urban commuting experience with user friendly, reliable and sustainably built light electric bikes.”
Earlier this year, in March, the company announced that revenue grew 115 per cent in 2020 as compared to the previous year while recording a year-end profit. It has 130 people working between offices in Tallinn, Berlin and Cologne.
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