Dat Bike is on a mission to lessen Vietnam’s reliance on gasoline. To cut costs and increase performance, the firm builds electric motorcycles using critical components that it designs and manufactures in-house. Dat Bike announced today that it has secured $5.3 million in a Series A round-headed by Jungle Ventures and Wavemaker Partners. Both are long-term investors. When TechCrunch originally highlighted Dat Bike a year ago, Jungle Ventures led the seed round. Dat Bike has now raised a total of $10 million since Son Nguyen launched the company in 2019.
The Vietnam Ministry of Transportation has designated Dat Bike as the country’s first electric bike. Dat Bike employs vertical integration rather than depending on third-party imported electric drivetrains and parts, according to Nguyen, since it saves money while enhancing quality. Dat Bike designs the majority of the parts on its vehicles, and 80 percent of its suppliers are based in Vietnam. It also employs a direct-to-consumer distribution approach, which lowers pricing. A portion of the funds will be used to improve the company’s technology. The battery, motor, and controller are the three most crucial components of an electric bike, according to Nguyen. Dat Bike currently owns the technology behind its battery packing and controller.
It will be able to invest in its engine technology with its new funding. Nguyen went on to say that the firm will also revamp its mobile app, introducing new capabilities and reducing the mistake reporting feature’s feedback loop. Consumer worries regarding the performance of e-bikes vs their gasoline equivalents were one of the primary issues the firm had to overcome. The Weaver, according to the business, has three times the performance (5 kW compared 1.5 kW) and two times the range (100 km versus 50 km) of most competitive electric bikes. The Weaver 200, Dat Bike’s second generation, debuted last year with improved capabilities, including a 200-kilometer range and 6 kW of power.
It also cut charging time in half, from one hour for 100 kilometers to 2.5 hours for the whole 200 kilometers. “Every year, we want to produce a new product and investigate quicker charging,” Nguyen added. Dat Bike now has two locations in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, as well as an online store where customers may buy bikes. Thai Nguyen, Bac Ninh, Hai Phong, Hai Duong, Ha Long, Vinh, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Danang, Can Tho, and Vung Tau are among the places where the cash will be utilized to extend its offline-to-online approach.
