BMW, Continental invest in innovative electric motor technology
Two prominent investors have come on board at electric motor startup DeepDrive: BMW and Continental.
With the entry of BMW i Ventures and Continental, the Series A financing round is now complete. This is according to concurring media reports; the companies involved did not initially comment on the matter. Other investors include UVC Partners, Bayern Kapital and, as a private investor, the former head of development at Audi and Volvo, Peter Mertens. The total financing round is expected to be €15 million.
Munich-based DeepDrive has developed an innovative double-rotor motor that offers higher efficiency than comparable motors available on the market while being more compact. The motor’s operating principle is said to be suitable both as a wheel hub motor and for use in a central drive. With its higher efficiency, the motor promises a range gain of up to 20% for electric cars, it says. The startup serves a market it estimates to be worth tens to hundreds of billions of euros a year. At the same time, it says its own technology is well protected against competitors by patents.
According to co-founder and CEO Felix Pörnbacher, the efficiency of electric vehicles is currently one of the biggest challenges for almost all vehicle manufacturers. “We have been able to develop a key technology with our dual rotor drive that addresses exactly this problem, which has led to extremely high interest from the industry,” the website electrive.net quotes DeepDrive’s CEO as saying. “With our focus on disruptive innovation coupled with professional high-volume experience, we see ourselves as pioneers of electrification for mobility. Now we look forward to working with our strong new partners and existing supporters to bring this technology to the road and win initial volume projects.”
The company says it is already in talks with eight of the world’s top ten automakers. Series production of the motor is scheduled to start in 2026.
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