Lawrenceville-based Velo.AI is gearing up for a significant 2024.
After quickly selling out of the initial limited production run of its $399 Copilot smart sensor product, which cyclists can attach to their bikes for added safety features, Velo is eyeing workforce expansions to better scale the young startup's ambitious feat of trying to be a formidable player in the bicycle accessories market, a market that was valued at $11.43 billion in 2022 per Grand View Research Inc.
To do so, Velo CEO and Co-Founder Clark Haynes said the startup is entertaining a $2.5 million to $3 million seed round this year, though specific timing figures aren't something he's able to offer at this time due to broader market uncertainties.
A capital infusion of that amount, Haynes said, could allow Velo to have about a dozen full-time employees by this time next year, up from the three full-time and three part-time employees it has now. A large portion of these new hires would be in software, sales and marketing roles, Haynes said.
"A lot of that is really about growing our team so that we can add features, improve existing products and target new markets in the coming years," Haynes said. "The nice thing now is we've got a really good foundation. We have a product that works, we have a manufacturing process that works. We have a customer base that's already using the product and giving us feedback."
Velo was one of six startups to graduate from the Robotics Factory's inaugural cohort of young companies late last year, which equipped the company with resources and tools to better build its product and overall business model. Haynes describes Velo's Copilot product as a robot without moving parts given its automated vehicle detection sensors and warning systems for cyclists who use the product.
In 2022, Pittsburgh Inno named Velo as one of its 10 Startups to Watch. It has raised $1.1 million in preseed funding so far.
