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Proterra raises $55M in Strategic Financing for ZEV Transit

June 29, 2015 by Jeff Shepard

Proterra announced the completion of Strategic Financing that will fund the Proterra business plan to cash flow positive results with the addition of $55 million of liquidity. This signals a new growth phase for the company, as Proterra scales production to meet growing demand and accelerates cash realization. Proterra has closed a $30 million Series 4 equity round led by $19 million from several new strategic investors. The existing major investors in Proterra added $11 million of equity.

"Increasingly Proterra's products and technology are earning industry credibility as fleet customers place second, third, and fourth orders for Proterra's zero emission transit vehicles. And while the company has made great strides within the last year, we're really looking forward to supporting Proterra through this next stage of expansion," said Michael Linse, a partner at KPCB and Proterra board member.

In conjunction with the equity financing, Proterra has completed a debt financing in an amount up to $25 million with Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc.. The strategic debt financing will provide long-term debt capital to fully fund Proterra's new Advanced Manufacturing facility in California, which was recently awarded a California Energy Commission grant to support clean vehicle technology growth. In addition, the Hercules debt facility expands Proterra's access to working capital, a critical component of growth financing as production volume increases.

By simultaneously securing a strategic debt facility and a large growth equity financing, Proterra will finish the second quarter of 2015 fully funded to expand into the West Coast markets through its new California manufacturing center, ramp production to meet growing demand, and continue to invest heavily in future generations of EV transit technology.

"This is a pivotal time for Proterra as we launch the latest generation of our technology and double our production capacity," said Ryan Popple, Proterra CEO. "We're appreciative to have such strong investor interest and confident in the company's ability to deliver strong results for all. Our new and existing investors are supportive of both our need to increase capacity as well as continue to lead the market in steadily improving and perfecting EV technology for transit. These financings are a powerful source of growth capital and will accelerate the adoption of EV technology in transit."

Proterra designs and manufacturers zero-emission vehicles that enable bus fleet operators to significantly reduce operating cost while delivering clean, quiet transportation to the community. Proterra has sold over 100 vehicles to 14 different transit agencies throughout North America. Proterra's configurable EV platform, battery and charging options make its buses well-suited to a wide range of transit and campus routes.