Vok Bikes raised €3,8M
Tallinn-based startup Vok Bikes raised €3,8M from Estonian SmartCap Green Fund, Jaan Tallinn’s fund Metaplanet, Estonian venture fund Specialist VC, Estonian independent electricity producer and an investor in early-stage startups Sunly, and angel investors. Besides, the company received a €300K grant from Enterprise Estonia.
Vok Bikes was founded by Indrek Petjärv in Tallinn in 2019. Vok Bikes supplies the last-mile delivery space with its electric cargo bikes. The model Vok S has a 0.4 mᶟ cargo volume and a maximum payload of up to 120 kg. It does not require a driving license and can be used to deliver goods. Recently, Vok launched the Vok XL model with a payload of up to 200kg. The new model is designed to replace traditional vans.
Vok Bikes will use the investment for implementing its plan of releasing 1K more cargo bikes across Europe in the next year. Also, it targets to expand in European markets with its new XL cargo model.
The company claims that it has short development cycles with the opportunity to optimize all the component systems. Bikes have different traction control, eABS systems, and over-the-air updates. According to the startup, its bikes enable lower kilometer costs, reduce CO2 emissions, and save time when moving in the city. Vok bikes are available in ten countries. Finnish food delivery company Wolt, Denmark-based bike and e-bike sharing service Donkey Republic, Sweden e-commerce company Mathem, German food delivery company Foodora, and Estonia's postal service Omniva are among its clients.
Sunly is an independent electricity producer, which invests in early-stage startups, engaged in electrification, renewable energy, and storage, battery technology, IoT, energy-enabling technology, and smart city applications. Its portfolio companies are Estonian Skeleton Technologies, Comodule, and UP Catalyst.
Metaplanet Holdings is an early-stage investment firm of Skype’s founder Jaan Tallinn. It has 163 companies in its venture investment portfolio.
Specialist VC is a venture capital fund supporting companies from the Baltic region, Finland and Ukraine. Usually, it starts financing from €250K. At the beginning of 2022, Specialist VC launched a new €50M, which gets support from Estonian LHV pension funds and the European Investment Fund through the European Guarantee Fund and the Baltic Innovation Fund 2.
SmartCap Green Fund is a part of SmartCap, the investment company, established in Tallinn in 2021 as a subsidiary of the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency. A €100M SmartCap Green Fund supports early-stage Estonian green technology companies – through dedicated venture capital funds and direct investments to companies until 2026. It aims to invest up to €20M as direct investments until the end of 2024. The fund gets financing from the European Union Next Generation EU Recovery and Resilience Facility funds.
