Consultancy Invictus Advisory sees founder take SEA board position
SEA Electric reports two-thirds of a US capital raising effort has been gained so far.
The Melbourne-headquartered battery-electric propulsion firm has made significant headway in the US and says it closed US$20 million of a US$30 million (A$28-$43 million) ‘Series A’ round last week.
The financing was led by San Francisco-headquartered international boutique investment bank GCA Global.
Participants in this round included strategic, financial and hybrid investors with Invictus Advisory Group (IAG) securing the first $20 million investment.
IAG was founded by Kevin Smith in 2013 and recently launched a US$750 million mobility and electrification fund focused on investing across the electric vehicle lifecycle from batteries to vehicle production and aftersales services, SEA notes.
“I look forward to lending my expertise to the SEA Electric team as we search for novel ways to increase company value,” IAG managing partner Kevin Smith says.
“It has been a pleasure getting to know the team and I am excited to be a part of our next stage of growth.”
Commonly, firms seek Series A funding – the first of three stages that follow seed funding – which often attracts venture capitalist interest when looking for enterprises with a track record but still at the early stages expansion.
The announcement comes as Hino in the US reveals SEA Electric’s role in its electrification program in North America.
Read about SEA Electric involvement in Hino’s zero emissions initiative, here
“SEA Electric is continuing to develop, enhance and deploy its electric SEA-Drive technology in collaboration with glider chassis suppliers across a range of van and truck-platforms in all major global markets,” SEA Electric founder and president Tony Fairweather says.
“Having IAG’s investment support and Kevin Smith join our board, will both expedite scale and provide invaluable segment and market experience.”
IAG is said to be an investment advisory and consulting firm with direct access to major sources of financing and investment from Fortune 500 companies and the US government.
The investment announcement is SEA Electric’s first this year and a further independent board position is to be announced soon.