NOVUS closes double-digit million funding round led by 468 Capital
B2B News | NOVUS (Germany) has closed a funding round in the double-digit million-dollar range, led by Berlin-based venture firm 468 Capital. The company plans to use the capital to scale its operations across Europe and to prepare its entry into the United States, scheduled for 2027. The exact amount of the round has not been disclosed.
From founder-funded prototypes to series production
NOVUS built its first prototypes in-house, financed by the founders themselves. According to CEO and founder René Renger, the company then took its hardware into series production using a fraction of the capital that comparable vehicle start-ups typically require. The round comes after NOVUS reached that milestone: the NOVUS One is now in series production and being delivered to customers in several European countries.
The concept behind the vehicle has remained the same since the start. NOVUS positions its products as a separate category it calls the Lightbike, combining the intuitive handling of an e-bike, the agility of a scooter and the performance of a motorcycle in one design. Renger says that when he started the company, he did not know whether anyone would believe in a vehicle that fit no existing category.
Roadmap: NOVUS Two and US launch
Three priorities follow from the investment. The first is the NOVUS Two, which the company describes as its volume model, intended to bring the Lightbike category to a much broader market. The second is further expansion into what NOVUS calls Europe’s lifestyle metropolises. The third is the launch in the United States in 2027.
Targeting car drivers, not motorcyclists
NOVUS frames its addressable market well beyond the motorcycle segment. The company states that 97 percent of people in European cities hold a car driving licence, and that in many countries this licence is sufficient to ride the entry configuration of the NOVUS One, and in some cases even the most powerful version. On that basis, NOVUS sees its potential customer base as more than 400 million car drivers across Europe and North America.
Renger says the goal is not to electrify the existing motorcycle market but to reshape urban mobility around vehicles that take up less space, weigh less and produce less noise. Alongside the hardware, NOVUS is working on what it calls physical AI for urban mobility: a platform of two- and four-wheeled vehicles designed to learn from ride data and improve through software updates.
Investor network from tech, automotive and consumer
Besides 468 Capital, where partners Ludwig Ensthaler and Emanuel Pallua led the round, NOVUS has assembled a shareholder base of more than 30 investors. COO and founding member Hannes A.H. Krieger explains that the company deliberately did not go looking for traditional mobility investors. Instead, it built a network of leaders who have scaled and disrupted markets, which he compares to NOVUS having its own Y Combinator. Krieger describes the strategy as “Genkidama”: building NOVUS together with the industry rather than alone. Drawing on several years of experience as a venture scout, he says he has not seen a comparable shareholder ecosystem before.
Named backers include Eric Bach, former Chief Engineer at Lucid Motors and previously in an engineering leadership role at Tesla, and Martin Hoffmann, former CEO of Swiss sportswear brand On, who led that company through its IPO. A co-founder of Xiaomi and racing driver Sophia Floersch are also among the shareholders, together with founders and executives with backgrounds at Adidas, AMG, Audi, BMW, Chrono24 and FINN.
According to NOVUS, these investors contribute expertise and international networks in addition to capital, as the company positions itself as a technology brand rather than a conventional vehicle manufacturer.
Context
The round stands out in a market where several electric two-wheeler start-ups have struggled to secure follow-up funding in recent years. NOVUS closing a significant round after reaching series delivery, rather than before, gives the company a stronger position as it moves from low-volume premium production towards a volume model and a new continent.
Source: NOVUS / René Renger and Hannes A.H. Krieger on LinkedIn – © Images: NOVUS