University of Oxford's electric motor spinout Yasa has added $22m from investors including OSI and Parkwalk Advisors to its coffers to help it cope with growing customer demand.
Yasa, a UK-based electric motor supplier spun out of University of Oxford, closed a £18m ($22m) round backed by the university’s venture fund Oxford Sciences Innovation today.
Parkwalk Advisors, a fund management arm of commercialisation firm IP Group, investment firm Universal Partners and venture capital firm Inovia Capital also took part in the round.
Spun out in 2009, Yasa produces electric motors that can be employed in place of conventional propulsion in automotive, marine and aerospace vehicles. Yasa claims the products offer enhanced propulsion power and torque density, marketing them towards both hybrid and all-electric transport applications.
The cash will help the spinout scale in response to growing aerospace and automotive demand – a customised version of its technology was recently commissioned by an unnamed luxury hybrid-powered car manufacturer.
Yasa last raised $21.4m in a February 2018 growth equity round involving Universal Partners and Parkwalk Advisors, after the latter’s Opportunities EIS Fund led a round of undisclosed size in 2017, having also led an $8.3m round in 2014.
Parkwalk Advisors and 24 Haymarket also co-led a round of undisclosed size featuring Greenwood Way Capital in 2016, though further details could not be ascertained.
