Indian electric motorcycle maker Ultraviolette has spent the last few years building some genuinely interesting machines while those of us in other parts of the world just stared at them through a screen. That arrangement apparently has an expiration date. The company is now targeting a US launch in 2027, and it’s heading stateside with considerably more money, manufacturing capacity, and tech-industry firepower than it had before.
Ultraviolette just raised $85 million in fresh funding led by Yali Capital and TDK Ventures, with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan also investing personally. Tan, who also chairs investment firm Walden International, is joining Ultraviolette as an adviser. So yes, the guy currently running Intel has put his own money behind an Indian electric motorcycle company and will now have a seat close enough to the table to offer advice. That's not exactly your average motorcycle-industry funding announcement.
