ZEN Yachts secures $5.9M in Series A alongside new orders for its solar electric catamaran
Nascent solar electric catamaran manufacturer ZEN Yachts has announced the closing of a Series A funding round totaling 5.5 million euros ($5.86M), sponsored entirely by Ocean Zero, LLC. The zero emissions boatbuilder looks to use the fresh round of funding to continue construction of the first hulls of its ZEN50 solar electric catamaran, of which additional preorders have now been secured.
The ZEN Yachts name stands for “Zero Emission Nautic Ltd. – an ocean-conscious boatbuilder founded as recently as 2021 that is headquartered in Spain. To help propel the popularity of zero-emission yachts and maximize their performance, the company has combined both wind sailing with electric propulsion.
Its voyage into the marine market begins with the ZEN50, a 50+ foot solar electric catamaran currently being built near Barcelona. The 12-passenger electric yacht features 2 x 50kW brushless DC motors, powered by a 160 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack.
The main pack is supported by an entire rooftop of solar panels, offering a peak power of 16 kW, allowing the ZEN50 to cruise at 4.5-5 knots using the power of the sun alone and 14+ knots using the electric motor and wingsail combined. The Oceanswings wingsail comes from AYRO, making the ZEN yacht the first series production leisure craft to feature this fully-automated wingsail technology.
Last spring, we shared specifications of the all-electric ZEN50, in addition to word that ZEN Yachts had secured its first pre-order. The company has since pivoted its hull construction strategy, but has completed a successful round of Series A funding to get it there.
ZEN gains funding, but electric yacht construction delayed
ZEN Yachts announced the funding round today, committed entirely by Ocean Zero, LLC, which invests specifically in young companies working to decarbonize transportation across the planet’s oceans, rivers, and seas.
Ocean Zero’s operating partner is former Washington Post Magazine editor-in-chief Stephen Petranek, who is supported by managing partner Chris Anderson, curator of the TED conferences and the TED Countdown Initiative. Petranek spoke to the fund’s investment in ZEN’s electric yacht technology:
Ocean Zero seeks visionaries who have a realistic shot at making a significant leap in scale and impact to change the overall emissions of CO2 and other pollutants incurred by sea shipping, ferries and recreational boats. Decarbonizing sea transport and recreational boating no longer requires a leap in imaginative engineering and science. It’s possible right now. And time is running out. Boats produce more atmospheric CO2 each year than all the airlines in the world. This is a massive problem that has solutions that can be adopted immediately. We need innovative companies like Zen Yachts to lead us into the new world of boat electrification.
During the announcement, ZEN Yachts shared that it has garnered three additional pre-orders, meaning its first four solar electric catamaran reservations are spoken for. In speaking with the team, we learned that the boatbuilder decided to invest in series production molds and has consequently, experienced a carbon hull production delay.
The new molds are currently being produced, but deliveries of hulls 1 and 2 are now expected to arrive in Q1 and Q2 of 2024 respectively, due to production pivot. Looking ahead, ZEN Yachts intends to officially debut during the International Multihull Show at La Grande Motte in France in mid-April.
After that, ZEN has announced its inaugural Community Days planned for June 8-9 at his headquarters in Barcelona.
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Tesla’s Q2 results are in, and they are way, way down from Q2 of 2024. At the same time, Nissan seems to be in serious trouble and the first-ever all-electric Dodge muscle car is getting recalled because its dumb engine noises are the wrong kind of dumb engine noises. All this and more on today’s deeply troubled episode of Quick Charge!
We’ve also got an awesome article from Micah Toll about a hitherto unexplored genre of electric lawn equipment, a $440 million mining equipment deal, and a list of incompetent, corrupt, and stupid politicians who voted away their constituents’ futures to line their pockets.
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OpenAI is distancing itself from Robinhood‘s latest crypto push after the trading platform began offering tokenized shares of OpenAI and SpaceX to users in Europe.
“These ‘OpenAI tokens’ are not OpenAI equity,” OpenAI wrote on X. “We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it.”
The company said that “any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval — we did not approve any transfer,” and warned users to “please be careful.”
Robinhood announced the launch Monday from Cannes, France, as part of a broader product showcase focused on tokenized equities, staking, and a new blockchain infrastructure play. The company’s stock surged above $100 to hit a new all-time high following the news.
“These tokens give retail investors indirect exposure to private markets, opening up access, and are enabled by Robinhood’s ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle,” a Robinhood spokesperson said in response to the OpenAI post.
Robinhood offered 5 euros worth of OpenAI and SpaceX tokens to eligible EU users who signed up to trade stock tokens by July 7. The assets are issued under the EU’s looser investor restrictions via Robinhood’s crypto platform.
“This is about expanding access,” said Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s SVP and GM of crypto. “The goal with tokenization is to let anyone participate in this economy.”
The episode highlights the dynamic between crypto platforms seeking to democratize access to financial products and the companies whose names and equity are being represented on-chain
U.S. users cannot access these tokens due to regulatory restrictions.
Despite the warnings, BYD continues introducing new discounts. On Wednesday, BYD’s luxury off-road brand began offering over 50% Huawei’s smart driving tech.
BYD introduces new discounts on smart driving tech
After BYD cut prices again in May, the China Automobile Manufacturers Association (CAMA) warned that the ultra-low prices are “triggering a new round of price war panic.”
Although they didn’t single out BYD, it was pretty obvious. BYD slashed prices across 22 of its vehicles by up to 34%, triggering several automakers to follow suit in China.
BYD’s cheapest EV, the Seagull, typically starts at about $10,000 (66,800 yuan). After the price cuts, the Seagull is listed at under $8,000 (55,800 yuan).
It doesn’t look like China’s EV leader plans to slow down anytime soon. Fang Cheng Bao, BYD’s luxury off-road brand, introduced new discounts on Huawei’s smart driving tech on Wednesday.
The limited-time offer cuts the price of Huawei’s Qiankun Intelligent Driving High-end Function Package to just 12,000 yuan ($1,700).
Buyers who order the smart driving tech in July will save over 50% compared to its typical price of 32,000 yuan ($4,500).
Earlier this year, Fang Chang Bao launched the Tai 3, its most affordable vehicle, starting at 139,800 yuan ($19,300). The Tai 3 is about the size of the Tesla Model Y, but costs about half as much.
The Tai 3 will spearhead a new sub-brand of electric SUVs following the more premium Bao 8 and Bao 5 hybrid SUVs.
BYD’s luxury off-road brand sold 18,903 vehicles last month, up 50% from May and 605% compared to last year. Fang Cheng Bao has now sold over 10,000 vehicles for three consecutive months.
The Chinese EV giant sold 382,585 vehicles in total in June, an increase of 12% from last year. In the first half of the year, BYD’s cumulative sales reached over 2.1 million, a YOY increase of 33%.
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