JIVR, a UK-based foldable, electric and chainless bike brand, is closing in on €850,000 on its Seedrs equity crowdfunding campaign goal, having raised over €693,630 from more than 145 investors. Funding will be used to establish a comprehensive sales channel mix of B2C, B2B and e-commerce tools to allow JIVR to reach a larger share of the market, fund the research and development of 4 new products based on modular elements and to launch JIVR | Senses, an arm of new functionalities and accessories aimed to enhance safety and the rider experience.
“JIVR | Senses will help JIVR to appeal to demographics with reservations about e-bikes as a transport option while, at the same time, offering a substantial upgrade to existing bikes with a standalone version that can be easily implemented,” explained Piatkowski on LinkedIn. “We believe JIVR | Senses will be a true game changer and we can’t wait to share more about this soon.”
To recap, Launched as a concept in 2012 in a University College London research paper studying the quality of city life, CEO and Founder and new MIT Tech Review Ambassador Marcin Piatkowski completed the research with an idea to popularize cycling to work. He realized that in order to turn regular commuters into cyclists he needed to design a bike that offered all the benefits of cycling without the lifestyle compromises that usually come with it. Enter JIVR:
“The JIVR | Bike is the answer to mixed distance commuting challenges in large cities across the globe. The bike combines its three key USP’s—foldable, electric, chainless—into one beautifully premium bike. Its unique features now make it easy for non-cyclists to use this method of commuting by answering their main concerns; the e-motor allows you to get from A to B without breaking a sweat, the absence of a chain eliminates pesky oil stains, its compact and mobile form means it can be taken anywhere, making it perfect for storing under your desk and requiring far less maintenance than a conventional bike.”
As reported earlier, some concerns remain with JIVR and a past Kickstarter campaign which raised a total of £126,152 from 204 backers in April 2015: the startups has neither delivered the bike product nor has it refunded the backers. JIVR reportedly messaged Kickstarter backers that “the Seedrs campaign has no bearing on this and the details of our plan remain unchanged from my previous post. You can be sure that we are doing everything possible to expedite the process and take care of the few remaining outstanding refund requests still pending.”
Before the campaign ends in 22 days, readers can check for updates and more campaign information here.
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