NEW YORK (BRAIN) Refurbished e-bike brand Upway closed a $60 million Series C funding round last week led by an investment by Copenhagen's A.P. Moller Holding. The company said it is looking for U.S. growth and plans to open used e-bike refurbishment centers in Denver and other U.S. cities.
Other investors are U.S.-based Galvanize and Ora Global, with continued support from Sequoia Capital and other global firms. The new round brings total funding to more than $125 million since Upway's founding in 2021.
Upway said it is doubling down on U.S. growth, expanding operations, creating jobs, and building circular mobility. This aligns with U.S. rebate programs in states like California and Colorado and supports city-level investments in bike infrastructure in New York and Minneapolis, the company said.
"We founded Upway with a simple idea: light mobility can only be sustainable if it's circular," said Upway co-founder Stphane Ficaja and Toussaint Wattinne in a joint statement. "This round allows us to scale that vision and make second-hand the first choice for millions of riders. We're building the industrial and technological infrastructure that gives e-bikes a second life, with the same quality and safety standards as new ones. We're excited and ready to continue establishing this entirely new category: one that combines purpose with performance and sustainability with scale."
Operating across France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Spain, and the U.S., Upway has industrial refurbishment centers called UpCenters in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin, Mechelen, and Dsseldorf. Six additional facilities, including Denver, will open within two years as part of a plan to reach 12 UpCenters across Europe and North America by 2027. This will support a network that will employ over 2,000 mechanics and operations specialists by 2030, Upway said.
Upway buys used e-bikes, refurbishes them in-house, and sells them online with a one-year warranty and home delivery. Inventory includes more than 200 brands and 2,500 models. With an average discount of 45% versus retail, Upway says its customers save an average of $1,000 per bike.
"Upway's ability to industrialize second-hand e-bike refurbishment and deliver the highest level of customer trust globally truly sets them apart," said Chetan Mehta, head of Growth Investing at A.P. Moller Holding.
