Helmond-based Lightyear, a manufacturer of solar-powered cars, is in talks with South Korean enterprise Sunbo for a potential investment of €3.5M.
The development comes after both entities signed a letter of intent on June 28, marking a pivotal step in their potential collaboration.
The Dutch company would likely be procuring components from Sunbo, which has partnerships with the likes of Hyundai.
Despite this promising step, the final agreement has not been reached yet as discussions with several potential investors are still ongoing.
We have contacted Lightyear regarding confirmation of the funding and will provide an update once we receive their response.
The past few months have been marked by ups and downs for the Dutch company, having experienced a setback in the spring. However, the company managed to make a fresh start in April with an €8M investment from a group of investors. This infusion of capital aimed to attract larger investors for a successful relaunch of the company.
What happened?
Earlier this year, the company decided to suspend the production of Lightyear 0 after Atlas Technologies BV, which is responsible for the production of Lightyear 0, declared bankruptcy.
In March, the Dutch company announced its plans to set up a new company and raised enough funding to create a solid capital base from the Individual Investors Group (IIG).
As a part of the process, the company also announced that its Intellectual Property (IP) will be brought to the new company as collateral for all stakeholders. Invest-NL, leading the consortium of former IP pledge holders, agreed to accommodate this for the new company.
In January, the Helmond company opened the waiting list for Lightyear 2 to make electric driving accessible and convenient at a more affordable price.
Lightyear 2 will offer a real-life driving range of over 800 kilometers and needs three times fewer charges than a conventional EV.
The company has received approximately 21,000 pre-orders of Lightyear 2 from international leasing and ride-sharing partners LeasePlan, MyWheels, Arval, and Athlon.
Initially, Lightyear 2 will be available in the US, UK, and EU regions, and production will start by the end of 2025 with an estimated price point of below €40,000.
Lightyear: What you need to know
Founded in 2016 by Arjo van der Ham, Koen van Ham, Lex Hoefsloot, Martijn Lammers, and Qurein Biewenga, Helmond-based Lightyear is a tech company developing an ultra-energy-efficient automotive platform.
Through its design and integrated solar cells, the company aims to eliminate the two biggest concerns for electric cars – high charging frequency and limited range.
Read the orginal article: https://siliconcanals.com/news/startups/lightyear-eyes-3-5m-from-sunbo/
