San Francisco startup BRD just finished its Series A funding round, raising $4.5 million. Racing dirt bikes and supermoto are about to get a whole lot more fun (and quieter).
The Series A round was led by Modara Technologies, which was joined by Cedarville Investments, Tesla Motors founders Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, and CEO of Baluarte Real Estate, Pedro Zapata Gil, from Spain. With this $4.5 million investment, BRD has raised a total of $8.2 million.
This round of fundraising means BRD can begin production of the BRD RedShift MX electric dirt race bike and BRD RedShift SM electric supermoto. BRD says it plans to show the production-ready models at AIMExpo in Orlando, Fla., in two weeks. The BRD RedShift MX will retail for $14,995, while the BRD REdShift SM will retail for $15,495. The first units to go on sale will be sold at BMW Motorcycles of San Francisco.
BRD claims the RedShift will compete with 250cc four-strokes on Supercross and motocross tracks, and will have an advantage, due to the torque delivery of the electric motor. The RedShift and RedShift SM are easily the electric motorcycles I'm most excited to ride, and this news makes it more likely that will happen soon.