Lithium-ion battery developer UgoWork closes Series C funding to expand HQ, production facility

Québec City-based battery developer UgoWork has announced it closed $51 million CAD in funding as “part of” its Series C financing. 

UgoWork has had significant expansion in the United States through “large key customers” and staff additions.

The $26.25 -million equity portion of the round was led by Fonds de solidarité FTQ, with participation from returning investors including the provincially funded Investissement Québec, and Crown corporation Export Development Canada (EDC). The Fonds and EDC separately announced that they invested $16.3 million under EDC’s expanded Investment Matching Program.

Additionally, Desjardins Technology and Innovation Banking are providing UgoWork with a $25-million credit facility. 

UgoWork CFO Frédérik Leclerc told BetaKit that there “could be more” Series C funding raised, but declined to disclose more information. 

The funding will be used on UgoWork’s go-to-market efforts as well as expanding its global distribution footprint, headquarters, and main production facility. UgoWork also looks to further the development of its software and hardware platforms. Leclerc said this entails new energy features on its cloud platform, expanding its hardware product portfolio, and adding staff. 

RELATED: Acel Power raises $13.6 million CAD to ramp up production of battery-powered boat motors

UgoWork said it has raised $77 million in total funding to date, following the round. The Fonds and EDC said they have jointly invested $29.3 million of that total since November 2022. 

Founded in 2015, UgoWork develops and manufactures lithium-ion batteries for material-handling vehicles such as forklifts. The startup last raised a $22.8 million Series B round in 2022 to expand its global distribution footprint among Fortune 500 companies and develop its “energy-as-a-service” platform.

Since then, Leclerc said that UgoWork has had significant expansion in the United States through “large key customers” and staff additions. The company also launched its software cloud platform “UgoPilot” last fall. The company says the platform provides a dashboard with real-time fleet data such as how often certain vehicles are used, and will alert users about battery issues. 

UPDATE (07/31/2024): An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that UgoPilot was launching this fall, when it actually released last fall. BetaKit has amended the error.

Feature image courtesy UgoWork.