In the middle of Covid season, the bicycle startup 3D printed by former Vietnamese CEO Le Diep Kieu Trang successfully called for 25 million USD

In July, Le Diep Kieu Trang – former CEO of Facebook Vietnam, Goviet, said that the startup Arevo, invested and operated by her husband Sonny Vu, had just launched Superstrata, the first monolithic carbon fiber bicycle. In the world. This product applies Arevo’s 3D printing technology.

Recently, TechCrunch said Arevo just ended a 25 million USD fundraising round to support the development of the business as well as the Superstrata bicycle project. This is a very impressive achievement in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic which is causing the global economy in general and the startup world in particular to suffer.

Arevo was founded in May 2013 by Hemant Bheda (currently Chairman) and Wiener Mondesir (CTO), a US-based company operating in the field of materials science, design software and robots to promote large-scale production of carbon fiber products. Alabaster Fund is co-founded by Mr. Sonny Vu. After investing in Arevo, Mr. Sonny Vu ​​took the role of CEO of this company.

Ms. Le Diep Kieu Trang and her husband, Mr. Sonny Vu ​​are investing and operating startup Arevo.

Initially, Mr. Sonny Vu ​​had his own business intentions but was attracted by Arevo’s potential. “3D printing is about making things slowly and in small quantities. With Arevo’s technology, you can create big things pretty quickly, ” he said in an interview. Sonny Vu’s appointment as CEO and completion of a $ 25 million fundraising is like a new page of Avero, after two previous CEOs.

Two years ago, Jim Miller, the former CEO of Amazon and Google, was brought to the helm of the company. At the same time, the company received $ 12.5 million in investment, led by Asahi Glass, with the participation of Sumitomo Corp., Leslie Ventures and Khosla Ventures.

Now, Defy Partners and GGV Capital are joining to fund the company’s Series B round with participation from Khosla Ventures, Alabaster and other investors.

Community fundraising 39 times higher than expected

Currently, there are a number of companies trying to bring 3D printing technology into the heavy industry and large-scale production such as Relativity, Velo3D. Meanwhile, Avero is considered to have three key points, including: consumer internet, enterprise and smart technology. At the same time, Arevo is led by an experienced team with a solid technological background and know-how to produce 3D printing on a large scale, ready to provide breakthrough products at competitive prices.

About the Superstrata car, Ms. Le Diep Kieu Trang introduced: “Each Superstrata car is 3D printed seamlessly to both familiarize yourself with the image and the way of cycling of each person. Each frame will be tailored for each person, high or low. Our bicycles, I am manufactured using laser and robot technology, created and operated by a team of graduates, created the world’s first monolithic carbon fiber bike frame. That means no screws, no connections and no glues, just an industry-standard block of carbon fiber, made from the most classy synthetic compound of any bike on the market. The chassis is so light that it’s lighter than both bottles of water. ”

According to Indiegogo, Superstrata weighs less than 1.3 kg – equivalent to current racing cars costing tens of thousands of dollars and equivalent to the weight of the Macbook Air 13 (1.25kg). The hardness of the components that make up the chassis is 61 times more than steel and 15 times more than Titanium.

In addition to the $ 25 million fundraising round, also according to Indiegogo, from the launch to August 11, the Superstrata 3D printed car project has successfully raised more than $ 3.9 million from the community, 39 times more than initial expectation.

“We are making this bicycle for the purpose of being able to create complex shapes on a large scale. Unlike many other companies that sell their 3D printers to manufacturers, Arevo intends to sell parts. That is because the cost to buy a 3D printer is quite expensive, from 1 million to 1.4 million USD, ” Mr. Sonny Vu ​​shared.

While Arevo sees automotive and aerospace companies as customers (including Airbus, which has previously invested in businesses), Mr. Sonny Vu ​​wants to bring this to consumers . “We already have tennis rackets, golf clubs, surfboards, approaching Arevo about using the company’s technology,” said Mr. Sonny.