You may recognise Arevo's composite technology from a recent successful Indigogo campaign for a series of slick 3D printed unibody bike frames developed with bicycle brand Superstrata – the campaign reached its target of 100k USD in under three minutes and is poised to surpass 5 million USD when the campaign reaches completion later this week.
The process behind these super strong, super lightweight frames is the Silicon Valley-based start-up’s continuous carbon fibre composite 3D printing process and today, Arevo is introducing its latest additive manufacturing platform to feature the technology onto the market.
Arevo’s Aqua 2 platform is believed to be the world’s first high speed additive manufacturing system for the on-demand manufacture of large – up to one cubic meter – continuous carbon fibre composite structures at four times the speed of its predecessor. The launch comes as Arevo closes a 25 million USD Series B financing round led by Defy Partners and GGV Capital with participation from Khosla Ventures, Alabaster, and others, bringing its funding total to 60 million USD. The investment sees Brian Shin, a serial entrepreneur, investor, and Defy Scout join Arevo’s Board.
Sonny Vu, CEO of Arevo told TCT: "The new round of funding with Defy, GGVC, and other value added investors not only allows us to scale quickly, it also lets us explore untapped markets which have tremendous potential for our technology. Our first B2C campaign with the Superstrata bike has garnered a surprising amount of consumer interest, which affirms the direction that we are taking."
Arevo’s collaboration with Superstrata is the latest in a series of bicycle projects, which last year included the EVEP e-bike with Pilot Distribution Group and Franco Bicycles’ Emery One. Back in 2018, the company’s technology was also adopted in the production of a commuter bike frame with StudioWest.
“Arevo's new platform enables fabrication of high strength, low weight carbon fibre parts, currently not possible with today's standard techniques,” said Trae Vassallo, founding partner at Defy. “We are thrilled to be working with the team to help scale up this incredibly impactful technology."
Hans Tung, a Managing Partner at GGV Capital commented: “Arevo is a compelling opportunity as it fits squarely at the intersection of GGV’s three main areas of investment focus: consumer internet, enterprise, and smart tech. We see fantastic potential in this market, and have backed Sonny before at Misfit. Arevo is led by an experienced team with solid technological foundation and 3D printing manufacturing know-how at scale - to offer breakthrough products at competitive prices.”
Arevo says it is now seeking additional talent across mechanical engineering and materials science, particularly those skilled in composites.
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