Sono Motors has closed another financing round with 45 million euros, as founder Laurin Hahn confirmed to Gründerszene. According to the data from According to the Munich Startup Insights dashboard This brings the Munich-based startup's total funding to approximately €105 million. The capital comes from Swedbank and DNCA, among others. Contrary to what Gründerszene reported, according to a company representative, previous investors WI Ventures, eVentures, Böllinger Group, and Seedrs are not participating in the current round.
Almost simultaneously with the announcement of the investment, another as yet unconfirmed media report comes: The Manager Magazine According to the report, the latest investment is part of the preparations for a planned IPO in the USA, which is planned for the end of the next quarter. Unveiling of the new prototype of their electric car Sion at the consumer electronics trade fair CES in January is presumably also part of Sono Motors's new strategy.
Financial injection from the community
In January of this year, the founders Laurin Hahn and Jona Christians with an emotional video to the community, in which they admitted that the company's development had gone astray. Laurin Hahn said in the video:
"We tried to do something in between: sticking to our values while simultaneously catering to this financial world. We had a completely new strategy, positioning ourselves as bigger, internationalizing, multiple markets, growth, and quick profits—and it didn't work."
The founders then woke up and realized that the Sion could never have come to market in this way. Therefore, the startup turned to its community and wanted to raise the missing capital not through the financial markets, but through the community itself – in the form of down payments for vehicles already reserved. The startup then succeeded in raising the required 50 million euros from the community and investors.
Co-founder has left the company
Attentive observers have already noticed another development within the company: Last year, only the two founders, Laurin Hahn and Jona Christians, appeared in Sono Motors's announcements. The third co-founder, Navina Pernsteiner, no longer appeared. As Hahn has now confirmed to Gründerszene, Pernsteiner stepped down this year. She left by mutual consent and is currently building a new startup. Laurin Hahn is quoted as saying: "We continue to have a good relationship." According to the commercial register, Pernsteiner holds 3.7 percent of the company's shares, Hahn 37.2 percent, and co-founder Jona Christians 33.5 percent.
