Demand revs up for Raine scooter

This Melbourne electric scooter company has smashed its fundraising target in just hours.

The Raine One electric scooter. Source: Supplied.

Melbourne-based electric transport company Raine has landed $500,000 in seed funding from Australian growth investor Blackbird Ventures, as the company moves to sell its Raine One electric scooter worldwide.

The Australian-born scooter, launched today, offers 40 kilometres of range and speeds of up to 50km/h, as well as in-built GPS technology, suspension, and a smart locking system.

Raine's CEO and co-founder is Marc Alexander, the co-founder and chief technology officer of Australian smart light bulb company LIFX. When it launched in 2012 LIFX was the most successful Kickstarter campaign in history, raising $1.3 million in just three days from thousands of customers worldwide.

Mr Alexander has again turned to Kickstarter, on Tuesday launching a Kickstarter campaign where customers can buy a Raine One scooter for $US979, a discount of almost $500 off the RRP.

In hours, the company has already passed its crowd-funding target raising over $120,000 and selling almost a hundred scooters, compared to a goal of $73,000.

The company has also turned to venture capital outfit Blackbird for seed funding, with Raine joining other portfolio companies including Canva, Nura and Culture Amp.

Other Raine co-founders are designer and engineer James Murphy, founder of the BajaBoard off-road electric skateboard, and Dell Young Hero Entrepreneur of the Year Michelle Mannering.

Raine's co-founders. Source: Supplied.

"It's just really fun to ride," Mr Alexander told The Australian. "We want to make commuting fun and enjoyable for everyone. We’re at this really exciting tipping point with sustainable transport where we can take our product to the world and share it with millions of people.

“I love getting things right for customers. I love creating things that people enjoy, and I’m able to do that from a multi-layered background in consumer electronics and smart products that connect with you.”

“Marc has significant experience leading companies and creating products that people love," Blackbird’s Head of Community Joel Connolly said.

“We’re excited to have him and the Raine team part of the Blackbird family.”

The scooter will ship with in-built speed limitations for whichever region it’s shipping to, and Australia has particularly strict state-by-state speed laws.

“Sensible councils across Australia want it,” he said. “We have set regulations for different countries, so whether we’re selling to the USA or to China for example there are different speed settings for the scooters we’re selling.”