Dat Bike gets another $8 million to put more e-bikes on Vietnam’s roads • TechCrunch

This bike is on a mission to put more e-bikes on the roads of Vietnam. The startup said today that it raised $8 million led by Singapore-based return investor Jungle Ventures, just seven months after announcing its first round of financing. GSR Ventures and Delivery Hero Ventures also participated in this round, alongside Wavemaker Partners and Innoven Capital.

The new round brings Dat Bike’s total raised to $16.5 million. It will use its new funding for technology and product development, hiring its sales, support, R&D and product teams, and building capacity at its factories.

Dat Bike was founded in 2018 by Son Nguyen, who learned to build bikes from scrap while working as a software engineer in Silicon Valley. The company claims that over the past 12 months, its revenue has increased 10 times.

Its bikes are sold at three stores in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang, with more stores planned. It will expand to Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Nha Trang, Binh Duong and Can Tho over the next few months.

Dat Bike is also available through online channels and stores, with plans to get a fast feedback loop to increase the speed of innovations and developments in every release of its products.

Nguyen told TechCrunch that since Dat Bike’s last funding round, it has increased its production capacity and go-to-market teams while continuing to invest in research and development. Dat Bike is also available in the three regions of Vietnam now.

Dat Bike’s customer strategy is to provide an e-bike first with good after-sales service, Nguyen said, and its goal is to convert gas-powered bike users to e-bikes.

Dat Bike claims its latest model, the Weaver 200, has a range of 200 kilometers compared to 50 kilometers for most other e-bikes, and a charging time of one hour for 100 km and three hours for a full charge of 200 km, compared to 6-8 hours for other e-bikes.

The startup recently launched Dat Charge, a charging station for its bikes, which it claims cuts charging time by a third. Dat Charge is currently available in central Ho Chi Minh City, with plans to expand nationwide over the next few years.

In a statement on the Jungle Ventures investment, VP My Tran said, “This is our third investment in Dat Bike and we continue to be amazed by the incredible execution of the team. This growth is a testament to the electric future Son is building with Dat Bike.