Irish e-bike firm Modmo secures €8.7 million seed investment 

Irish e-bike company Modmo has raised  €8.7 million (£7.2 million) in its seed investment round, led by €5 million from Ballymore Group CEO Sean Mulryan. 

Modmo was founded in March 2020 by 25-year-old Irishman Jack O’Sullivan, who wanted to help get more people on bikes and out of their cars.

O’Sullivan spent three years in Vietnam developing his business alongside factories and partners in the country,  before Modmo began taking pre-orders in late 2020 and then shipped its first bikes in February 2021. 

On company’s expansion, O’Sullivan said: “I spent the past  three-years in Vietnam focusing on product development and returned to Ireland in August to raise the capital we would need to ramp up production, and build a team in Dublin to focus on sales, marketing and support. We now have 10 people in the Dublin office and expect to reach 30 this year”. 

The seed investment round was led by Irish property developer Mulryan, who is CEO of property development company Ballymore. Mulryan’s investment was supported by an additional €2.7 million raised in September and €1m in March from several angel investors. 

Mulryan said: “The future cities will have transport sectors powered predominately by electrification. Electric bikes are already playing a role and are fast becoming one of the most popular modes of urban transport throughout Europe. A solution that has been proven to directly improve human health both mentally and physically while also helping to combat local combustion pollution. I fully support Modmo’s vision, and I am excited to contribute to making cities more clean, green, and enjoyable to live in.” 

After receiving 982 pre-orders from 27 countries in 2020, Modmo is now delivering to eight European countries and plans to expand to North America with the opening of its first dealership in Vancouver, Canada in March.

Germany currently makes up 85% of sales for the company, prompting Modmo to develop a servicing network to offer work anywhere in the country within 48 hours.  

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O’Sullivan added: “The latest investment from Sean will greatly accelerate our goal of getting an e-bike in every household in Europe.”