Participated · Convertible Note · Aug 2023

Northvolt is a Swedish manufacturer of battery cells for electric vehicles, operating a flagship gigafactory (Northvolt Ett) in Skellefteå and Northvolt Labs in Västerås. The company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US to enable restructuring, reorganisation and additional fundraising while continuing operations. Northvolt says operations will continue as normal during the bankruptcy and expects to complete the restructuring by Q1 2025. Founders include former Tesla executives Peter Carlsson and Paolo Cerruti; Carlsson will step aside as CEO, take a Senior Advisor role, and remain a Board member. The company has previously raised over $13.8 billion but has struggled with falling EV demand, intense Chinese competition, a €2 billion lost BMW contract, and large workforce reductions (1,600 layoffs). Operational metrics show it missed a production goal of 100,000 cells per week, shipping roughly 20,000, and it reports having enough cash for about one week of operations despite securing new financing. Northvolt is a Swedish battery startup building large-scale gigafactories to produce lithium-ion cells and packs for electric vehicles. The company aims to ramp production capacity to about 60 gigawatt hours, which the article equates to enough cells for over 1 million Volkswagen ID.3 vehicles. Northvolt says it has offtake contracts totaling more than $55 billion with automakers including BMW, Volkswagen, Volvo and Scania. It is expanding its manufacturing footprint with additional factories in Germany and Montreal; the Montreal site is intended to attract U.S. production tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. Financially, Northvolt secured a $5 billion debt package that includes refinancing an existing $1.6 billion facility from 2020, improving its runway for factory build-out and scale-up. Northvolt develops and manufactures sustainable battery cells and systems, with activities spanning R&D, manufacturing and recycling. It operates Europe’s first homegrown gigafactory, Northvolt Ett in Skellefteå, and runs an R&D and industrialization campus, Northvolt Labs, in Västerås. The company has received $55 billion in orders from major customers including BMW, Volvo Cars, Volkswagen Group, Scania and Fluence, and is supported by over 5,000 employees across Sweden, Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the US and Canada. Northvolt is developing additional projects across Europe and the Northvolt Six fully integrated battery factory in Saint‑Basile‑le‑Grand and McMasterville, Québec, which when built will target up to 60 GWh annual production and on‑site cathode, cell and recycling facilities. Groundwork for Northvolt Six was expected to start by the end of 2023. The company was established in 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden. Northvolt makes lithium-ion batteries and is developing next-generation lithium-metal cell technology, including work on electric aviation at a California facility. The company operates a gigafactory in Skellefteå and is building another in Gothenburg with Volvo, plus plants in Germany and an energy storage factory in Poland. This round is intended to fund expansion into North America and further growth in Europe; sources say Northvolt is close to finalizing plans for a multibillion-dollar factory in Canada. Financially, Northvolt has secured more than $55 billion in customer orders and has raised a total of $9 billion in debt and equity since 2017. The company has previously issued convertible notes, including $1.1 billion last year, and continues to use convertible instruments as it prepares for future milestones. Northvolt is a Stockholm-based maker of sustainable lithium-ion batteries. The company produces cells at a Sweden gigafactory, having produced its first battery cell just before 2022 and making first commercial deliveries in spring of this year. Its core product is sustainable lithium-ion battery cells intended to supply decarbonization efforts. Financially, Northvolt has secured close to $8 billion in equity and debt to support its expansion. The latest financing is a $1.1 billion convertible note, following approximately $2.75 billion in equity funding announced about a year earlier. The company says the capital will support plans to establish a supply of sustainable batteries to enable the decarbonization of society. CEO Peter Carlsson said the company is thankful for investor support and will work to deliver on its promise to build the world’s greenest battery.

Led · Equity · Jul 2023

XPeng is a Chinese automaker that builds battery-electric vehicles, including its flagship G9 SUV. Its vehicles include connectivity and advanced driver‑assistance system software often compared to Tesla’s FSD. Under a new deal with Volkswagen, XPeng will jointly develop and produce two mid‑sized EVs for the Chinese market that carry DNA from both automakers and are based on the G9. The vehicles will be produced at VW’s Hefei development, innovation and procurement center (100%TechCo). Production is expected to begin in 2026. Volkswagen is investing $700 million and acquiring a 4.99% stake in XPeng as part of the agreement. Xpeng is a five-year-old electric vehicle startup led by former Alibaba executive He Xiaopeng that develops models aimed at China’s tech-savvy middle-class. The company has raised multiple rounds totaling about $1.7 billion to date and announced roughly $500 million in a Series C+ round. The Series C+ follows a $400 million Series C closed last November and references a prior August 2018 fundraising event. Xpeng has faced a legal battle with Tesla over alleged theft of Autopilot source code, a case delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales headwinds in China from reduced government subsidies and pandemic-driven economic weakness pose near-term challenges. In May the company obtained a production license for a fully-owned car plant near its Guangzhou headquarters, reducing dependence on manufacturing partner Haima Automobile. XPeng Motors develops smart, connected electric passenger vehicles, including the G3 SUV and the forthcoming P7 sedan. The company began deliveries of its first production model, the G3, in December and had shipped 10,000 units by mid‑June, later releasing an enhanced G3 with a 520 km NEDC range. XPeng plans to launch its electric P7 sedan in spring 2020, with deliveries expected to begin in the second quarter of 2020. Financially, XPeng raised a $400 million Series C and said it secured "several billions" of Chinese yuan in unsecured credit lines from institutions including China Merchants Bank, China CITIC Bank and HSBC. The company said it has met most of its business and financing targets despite economic headwinds and policy changes affecting Chinese auto sales. XPeng has said it wants to IPO but provided no specific timetable, and its post‑money valuation for the Series C was not disclosed, though a source said it is better than the 25 billion yuan valuation from August 2018. XPENG Motors develops the G3, a high-tech electric SUV featuring a sporty design, shark-shaped front lip, lightsaber LED lights and integrated diamond-matrix taillights. The G3 is equipped with a 360° roof camera, a space-capsule-like cockpit, 20 smart sensors, full-scenario autonomous parking and Level 2.5 autonomous driving technologies tailored for Asia. G3 was scheduled to start official sales later in 2018 with deliveries beginning by the end of the year. The company plans to build 150 supercharging stations nationwide and open dozens of offline stores in first-tier Chinese cities. XPENG maintains R&D, manufacturing and marketing divisions in Beijing, Shanghai, Zhaoqing (Guangdong) and Silicon Valley. Financially, the company has completed a large Series B+ and reports cumulative financing exceeding RMB 10 billion with a valuation close to RMB 25 billion. XPENG Motors designs and manufactures internet-connected electric vehicles, including a Beta model, a production model (1.0) and the XPENG G3 (2.0) all-electric SUV slated for sale in 2018. The company has secured product qualification from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (July 2017). Headquartered in Guangzhou, XPENG maintains design, R&D, manufacturing, and marketing operations across Beijing, Zhaoqing and Silicon Valley. It reported nearly 1,000 employees with plans to grow to 3,000 by 2019. XPENG is developing the XPENG Motors Intelligent Internet-connected Science and Technology Park (Zhaoqing Base), a 3,000-mu site with a planned RMB 10 billion investment. Financially, the company has raised over RMB 5 billion to date following its most recent funding.

Participated · Equity · Jun 2022

Electrify America operates an ultra-fast electric vehicle charging network across the U.S. and Canada. It currently runs 3,500 ultra-fast chargers at 800 stations and aims to expand to 10,000 chargers across 1,800 stations by 2026. The company raised $450 million in a deal that values it at $2.45 billion and brings Siemens on as its first external investor. Siemens contributed more than $100 million (described as a low triple‑digit USD amount) and took a minority stake with a board seat, while Volkswagen is providing additional capital beyond its original $2 billion commitment through 2026. The funding is intended to accelerate deployment of ultra‑fast chargers to address U.S. infrastructure shortfalls. The move comes amid increased federal support for public charging, including a $7.5 billion infrastructure allocation for a national EV charging network.

Participated · Equity · Dec 2020

TuSimple develops self‑driving truck systems and operates testing fleets with human safety operators for long‑haul highway routes. The company began public‑road testing in 2018, including a 120‑mile stretch between Tucson and Phoenix and segments in Shanghai. It maintains a global headquarters in San Diego, an engineering center and truck depot in Tucson, and additional operations and a facility in Texas to support autonomous trips; it also has operations in Beijing and Shanghai. TuSimple has expanded its commercial partnerships and investor base to include logistics and automotive players such as UPS, Mando, Traton Group and U.S. Xpress. The company continues to scale testing and operations in the U.S. while diversifying strategic investors and customers. Financially, TuSimple has raised $648 million since its 2015 founding, including a recent $350 million round. TuSimple develops autonomous driving systems and software for heavy commercial trucks. The company operates a fleet of 40 self-driving trucks in the U.S., used for testing and freight runs between Arizona and Texas. TuSimple was launched in 2015 and has operations in China, San Diego and Tucson, Arizona. It is backed by investors including Sina, Nvidia, UPS and Tier 1 supplier Mando Corporation. TuSimple is working with partners to move from retrofitting to purpose-built autonomous semis, including a 2024 production plan with Navistar. The new partnership with Traton will expand operations into Europe and aims to develop Level 4 autonomy on Scania trucks, beginning testing on a route between Södertälje and Jönköping in Sweden. TuSimple builds a full-stack Level 4 autonomous driving system for long-haul trucks. The company operates testing programs and fleets in China, San Diego and Tucson, Arizona, and reports more than 50 trucks and 18 contracted customers. TuSimple was founded in 2015. It plans to use new funding to continue developing its autonomous vehicle technology and to expand long-haul routes in Arizona and Texas. Financially, the company has raised $298 million in total funding to date. TuSimple has conducted public-road testing since 2018 and runs daily tests with partners such as UPS on routes between Phoenix and Tucson. TuSimple develops camera-centric Level 4 autonomous driving systems for commercial trucks and operates daily commercial routes in Arizona. The company runs three to five fully autonomous trips per day across three routes and has 12 contracted customers. TuSimple emphasizes a camera-based perception stack (claiming a 1,000-meter vision range) while using LiDAR for mapping and some data collection. On-road trips run with two safety engineers—one behind the wheel and one monitoring data—and the company says these paid runs both generate revenue and validate its system. TuSimple plans to scale its commercial fleet to more than 50 trucks by June and expand fully autonomous deliveries into Texas. It is also funding joint production programs and integrations with OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers and sensor partners to enable commercial production and operation of self-driving trucks. TuSimple develops a full-stack autonomous driving system for line-haul trucking that integrates perception, localization, mapping, motion planning, control and actuation. The company uses advanced sensor fusion of cameras and radars to detect and track objects beyond 200 meters and its localization achieves consistent decimeter-level precision. Its decision-making system adapts to road conditions, including lane changes and speed adjustments, to maximize safety and efficiency. TuSimple demonstrated an SAE Level 4 self-driving system in Shanghai and is ramping up deployments in the U.S., starting in Tucson, Arizona. The company is focused on scaling testing to two full truck fleets—one in China and one in the U.S.—and is building a production engineering team in Tucson while maintaining R&D in San Diego and Beijing. TuSimple is led by CEO Mo Chen.

Led · Equity · Jun 2020

QuantumScape develops solid‑state batteries that replace liquid or gel electrolytes with a solid electrolyte to deliver higher energy density, faster charging and improved thermal safety for electric vehicles. The company has drawn early backing from investors including Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures. Volkswagen formed a joint venture with QuantumScape in 2018 to accelerate development and scale production. Volkswagen initially invested $100 million in September 2018 and has made a further strategic investment to support joint work. The companies plan to set up a pilot plant for industrial‑level production and will firm up pilot factory plans this year. Volkswagen previously set a target to establish a production line for these batteries by 2025; commercial cost remains a key hurdle for solid‑state technology.