Motorcycle technology company raises $2.5 million seed financing
Damon Motorcycles recently announced the completion of a $2.5 million seed financing round including Round 13 Capital and investment firms Techstars, Extreme Venture Partners and Pallasite Ventures. With these funds, Damon can address the critical safety needs for motorcycle fleet customers and manufacturers alike.
Motorcycles are recognized as one of the best tools for proactive policing, ambulatory, ride-hailing and courier delivery services with increasing congestion gridlocking major cities worldwide. However, motorcycles are also a costly tool with as much as 10% of motorcycle fleet riders taking time from work each year due to related injuries. Damon is addressing a market need to make motorcycling safer by leveraging low-cost connectivity networks, the commoditization of sensors and high-power mobile computing to position itself as an early leader with global enterprises and original equipment manufacturers.
Jay Giraud, founder and CEO at Damon Motorcycles said, “We are focused on the forgotten category of 1.5 billion vulnerable road users, and to fulfill our vision, we put data-driven thinking at the epicentre of the company. We are building a radical riding experience where the joy and simplicity of riding is augmented by technology, and our goal is to usher in a world with no fatal accidents on Damonized vehicles by 2030.”
Unlike the traditional driver-assistance systems (ADAS) found on cars, Damon’s Advanced Warning System for Motorcycles (AWSM) understands the ‘cageless’ conditions and unique vehicle dynamics of motorcycles that add to a rider’s vulnerability. Damon’s forward, side and rear detection algorithms inter-communicate to form a complete 360º ‘birds’ eye’ view of what’s happening around the motorcycle at all times.
Bruce Croxon, managing partner at Round 13 Capital, stated, “We typically do not do seed deals, but occasionally we come across a founder and a plan that we think can be a potential game changer – and we felt strongly that Damon fit this definition. We were impressed with the company founder, the idea itself and the problem it’s solving, and we’re thrilled to be onboard.”
Damon’s algorithms are tested over thousands of virtual and real-world miles before a motorcycle can consistently detect and anticipate accidents on all sides of the rider in all environmental and traffic conditions. With cellular connectivity, possible collision scenarios are recorded. The data is then sent automatically to a dedicated cloud platform where a sophisticated AI engine continually learns and creates new algorithms. Eventually, updates are sent back to the bike’s onboard processor with the rider alerted to the availability of an update. Such updates result in a faster, more sophisticated system, alerting the rider to potential hazards in a seamless, self-learning loop.
Motorcycle manufacturers are currently evaluating Damon’s technology for factory integration. With a significant patent portfolio and a team of world-class engineers and motorcyclists, Damon is well positioned to be a leading player in the $90 billion dollar motorcycle industry.
