Battery as a Service

August 21 2020

Chinese electric vehicle company Nio launched a "battery as a service" leasing program, making one of the most expensive parts of EVs more accessible to drivers. Removing the battery purchase requirement drops the price of Nio’s entry-level ES6 SUV from 343,600 yuan to 273,600 yuan.

Batteries are by far the most expensive component of an electric vehicle, and fluctuating raw-material prices can make the task of lowering an EV's cost more difficult. China’s NIO Inc. and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. aim to lighten that burden by allowing customers to lease batteries separately from cars, reducing upfront purchase costs.

The approach means customers can buy the vehicle shell outright, while agreeing to pay rental fees for the battery. They can also replace the battery with a newer, improved one in the same car shell as technology rapidly advances.

Nio is the leader in the Chinese EV market. After a dramatic rise in price in June that saw the Chinese electric car company more than double its stock price, there were plenty of investors who were looking at Nio’s second-quarter earnings announcement as proof that maybe Nio stock was just a flash in the pan.

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EV Battery Makers:

Northvolt AB is a Swedish company founded in 2015, working on battery development and manufacturing. It is specifically specialized in lithium-ion technology for Electric Vehicles (EVs) with an aim to improve battery production capacity.

Aquion Energy is a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.-based company that manufactures sodium-ion batteries and electricity storage systems. The company claims to provide a low-cost way to store large amounts of energy (e.g. for an electricity grid) through thousands of battery cycles, and a non-toxic end product made from widely available material inputs and which operates safely and reliably across a wide range of temperatures and operating environments.

StoreDot develops a quick-charging battery to replace the lithium-ion components used on phones, electric cars, and other un-wired devices. The company develops batteries that claim to charge significantly faster than conventional lithium-ion batteries.

Airbnb files for IPO as short-term rental market rebounds

Short-term home rental company Airbnb Inc says it has filed confidentially for an initial public offering with U.S. regulators, setting the stage for one of 2020’s marquee U.S. stock market debuts.
[Read more].

JPMorgan Chase had preliminary conversations to offer banking services at USPS locations

The banking giant may offer ATM access and other services on-premises at USPS locations. The discussions center on JPMorgan potentially leasing a small number of spaces for ATMs to better serve specific communities. [Read more].

Since last week, PrivCo has added:
4,300 Updated Companies | 197 M&A Deals | 196 Funding Activities

Funding & Deal Highlights:

Carrot Fertility, the leading global fertility benefits provider for employers, announces the company has closed $24M in Series B funding, bringing the total capital raised to more than $40M. U.S. Venture Partners led the round with participation by F-Prime Capital as well as existing investors including CRV, Precursor Ventures, Maven Ventures, and Uncork Capital. The additional funding will be used to fuel Carrot's global expansion, deepen product development in telehealth and telemedicine features across the fertility care continuum, and hire top talent. The company also announces that employee benefits leader Brian Marcotte has joined the Carrot board. Most recently, Brian served as the President & CEO of Business Group on Health for nearly a decade before retiring in May 2020. Business Group on Health is the leading organization for large employers in healthcare and benefits strategy.

Cold-pressed lemon water brand Lemon Perfect closes a $6.6M funding round supported by a host of investors including Beechwood Capital, R3 Venture Partners, the RCV Frontline Fund, the Stage 1 Fund, and Skyview Capital. Additional investment came from former Bai Brands COO Barak Bar-Cohen and a roster of NBA luminaries, including Lindsay Gottlieb, Channing Frye, Nick “Swaggy P” Young, Spencer Dinwiddie, Blake Griffin and Josh Hart.

Flavored water brand Hint, Inc. closes a $25M Series D financing round led by Springboard Growth Capital. Additional investors include Philippe Laffont, Gingerbread Capital, and Medina Heights Capital Partners.

Movable Ink, a company that helps businesses deliver more personalized and relevant email marketing, announces that it has raised $30M in Series C funding.

Datasembly — the leading provider of real-time product pricing, promotions, and availability data for retailers and CPG brands — announces that it has raised $10.3M in Series A funding led by Craft Ventures with participation from Valor Siren Ventures.

Chili Piper announces it has raised $18M to grow its sales platform for booking meetings and phone calls. With the fresh capital, the startup plans to invest in product capabilities and expand its sales and marketing efforts worldwide.

Dutchie, the Bend, Ore.-based creators of an e-commerce platform that helps cannabis dispensaries facilitate online orders, raises $35M in new funding, with backing from the likes of former Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz and hip-hop star Snoop Dogg.

Indianapolis-based Allos Ventures is the lead investor in a $1.5M funding round for a Pittsburgh-based medical software provider. Rimsys Inc. says it will use the funding to expand its product offering, as well as its sales and marketing efforts.

Cybersecurity startup Cyware announces that it has raised $10M in a Series A funding round to expand amid growing demand for its automated threat intelligence and response product due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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