On the heels of closing the final tranche of a $35 million financing round that ranked as the fifth-largest New England venture deal of the second quarter, Segway is reportedly back on the financing circuit looking for $14 million more for a Series D round, according to PE Hub, which cites a regulatory filing.
The report says the Bedford, NH-based company has raised $5 million toward the new round, and that the Masdar Clean Tech Fund was part of it. We haven’t yet gotten anyone at Segway to confirm the new round, but note that gas prices are soaring, and the buzz around more environmentally friendly transportation is high—so the climate might be right for the lithium-ion-battery-powered Segway (which costs around $6,000). All told the company makes seven models, tailored to different uses such as golf, off-road adventuring, commuting, and even cargo carrying.
Segway has previously raised a total of $171 million from such firms as Masdar, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Credit Suisse First Boston Private Equity, and DAG Ventures, according to PE Hub.
Author: Robert Buderi
Bob is Xconomy's founder and chairman. He is one of the country's foremost journalists covering business and technology. As a noted author and magazine editor, he is a sought-after commentator on innovation and global competitiveness. Before taking his most recent position as a research fellow in MIT's Center for International Studies, Bob served as Editor in Chief of MIT's Technology Review, then a 10-times-a-year publication with a circulation of 315,000. Bob led the magazine to numerous editorial and design awards and oversaw its expansion into three foreign editions, electronic newsletters, and highly successful conferences. As BusinessWeek's technology editor, he shared in the 1992 National Magazine Award for The Quality Imperative.
Bob is the author of four books about technology and innovation. Naval Innovation for the 21st Century (2013) is a post-Cold War account of the Office of Naval Research. Guanxi (2006) focuses on Microsoft's Beijing research lab as a metaphor for global competitiveness. Engines of Tomorrow (2000) describes the evolution of corporate research. The Invention That Changed the World (1996) covered a secret lab at MIT during WWII. Bob served on the Council on Competitiveness-sponsored National Innovation Initiative and is an advisor to the Draper Prize Nominating Committee. He has been a regular guest of CNBC's Strategy Session and has spoken about innovation at many venues, including the Business Council, Amazon, eBay, Google, IBM, and Microsoft.
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