Ember, a company which is creating one of the UK’s first all-electric intercity bus networks, has raised an extra £11m.
The Scotland-based business has secured the additional funding through a Series A round led by Inven Capital, 2150 and AENU.
Existing investors Pale Blue Dot and SkyScanner co-founder Gareth Williams also participated in the oversubscribed round.
Ember, whose shareholders include former Monzo CEO and co-founder Tom Blomfield, will use the funding to accelerate the rollout of its electric bus services and further invest in EmberOS, the platform that controls the network.
The company said that more than 750,000 journeys have already been made with it – a figure that’s expected to double over the coming year as the network expands.
Ember will soon take delivery of the first batch of its next-generation bus, with a 563 kWh battery and a range of over 500 kilometres.
Keith Bradbury, co-founder of Ember, said: “Travelling by bus or coach doesn’t have to be rubbish. It should be possible to deliver an experience that beats a car – because someone else is doing the driving so you can have your time back – but that requires a relentless focus on the passenger experience.
“Things like live tracking that actually works, super-simple pricing, easy ticket changes and near-perfect reliability.”
Keith Bradbury and Pierce Glennie, co-founders of Ember – Chris Watt Photography
Co-founder Pierce Glenni added: “Under the hood it’s a delightfully complicated problem to solve.
“EmberOS is the digital twin of our network, and we continue to add layers of data that enable the system to always know what’s going on.
“That means things like real-time vehicle states, current traffic conditions, nearby bus lanes, battery cell temperatures and the health of our chargers.
“When you put all of that together you can really bring down operational costs and deliver a better experience.”
Inven Capital is a £500m European venture capital fund backed by CEZ Group and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Daniel Edgerley, investment director at Inven Capital, said: “Inven Capital is excited to co-lead Ember’s financing round alongside 2150 and AENU, and to join other great existing investors.
“We have been impressed with both Keith and Pierce as founders and as visionaries of the future of shared transportation.
Daniel Edgerley,
“Our commitment to the company underscores our belief in their customer-centric and innovative approach to electrification and digitalisation across the business.
“Their decision to fundamentally link their smart infrastructure design, assets and technology platform enables unparalleled optimisation, as well as visibility and data-evidenced insights that gives clean transportation a clear advantage over incumbent solutions.
“We are excited to be a part of Ember’s mission of revolutionising transportation.”
Ventura capital firm 2150 is part of Urban Partners while AENU is a climate tech fund.
Rahul Parekh, a partner at 2150, added: “At 2150, we love founders that are solving some of the world’s biggest problems. Inter-city travel represents the majority of passenger miles and 90 per cent of those journeys happen in the car so decarbonising this sector has huge sustainability impact.
“With Ember, Keith and Pierce have developed an innovative, full-stack, electrified bus fleet, using technology to provide superior customer service and fantastic operating margins compared to legacy solutions.
“We are delighted to be supporting them alongside our friends at Inven Capital and AENU in building the next generation of inter-city transport.”
Siobhan Brewster, a partner at AENU, said: “We are thrilled to support them on this journey as we enable a modal shift to greener transportation and expect the technology to power many networks going forward as they grapple with the complexities of electrification at scale.”