The electric bus company Proterra has filed to accept up to $100 million more in funding that values the company at up to $840 million.
The electric bus company Proterra is worth up to $840 million after raising new money
The company, which creates city buses that are powered by electric batteries, has filed to accept up to $100 million.
Proterra
Proterra creates city buses that are powered by electric batteries and sells them to government transportation agencies. Customers include New York’s MTA, Philadelphia’s SEPTA system and the DC Circulator.
It is a capital-intensive industry. Proterra CEO Ryan Popple told Bloomberg this month that an initial public offering for his company was “more of a bureaucratic question than it is an operational question” but that he was also open to possible acquisitions from car companies or other companies that depend on gas. He has previously predicted the bus sector could be almost entirely electric in the next 10 years.
Transit agencies are increasingly looking for ways to cut costs and ditch diesel but have previously expressed concern over the limited ranges of electric batteries. To that end, Proterra introduced a new high-power charging solution earlier this month.
The company declined to comment.
Heavily backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Proterra last raised money from Al Gore’s investment firm last June at a valuation of about $500 million, according to PitchBook. The lead new funder couldn’t be learned.
Proterra would be valued at $840 million including the new money, according to a filing with the state of Delaware that was provided by Lagniappe Labs, creator of the Prime Unicorn Index.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
