Herbert Smith Freehills’ Melbourne-based Corporate team has advised Applied Electric Vehicles Ltd on its capital raising, which included a strategic investment by Suzuki Motor Corporation.
Applied EV will employ this new capital to fund growth towards commercialisation at scale.
Applied EV is an Australian technology company that has developed a proprietary digital control system known as the Digital Backbone; a combination of software, firmware, and electronics that enable the centralisation of the control system for a vehicle into one control unit.
Applied EV’s Digital Backbone has already been implemented into Applied EV’s electric vehicle known as the Blanc Robot — a cabinless, driverless vehicle, configurable for multiple autonomous commercial uses, including on-road and off-road applications.
The Herbert Smith Freehills team was led by partner Alex Mackinnon and supported by Senior Associate Ling Zhu.
Alex Mackinnon said, “We are delighted to have supported Applied EV on its successful capital raising. As an exciting and innovative technology company, its successful raising highlights there is a strong appetite in the market to invest in innovative businesses with strong growth potential. The team has been a pleasure to work with and we wish them continued success with the next stage of their growth and expansion.”
Julian Broadbent, Co-Founder and CEO of Applied EV, said, “Applied EV is thrilled with the outcome of the capital raise, which facilitated the alliance with Suzuki, linked directly to our commercialisation strategy which we’re now in the process of executing. Throughout the process, the HSF team added significant value through their commercial, common sense approach and top-shelf expertise.”
The deal is another example of Herbert Smith Freehills’ market-leading work in Australian VC and pre-IPO capital raisings within the emerging technology space.
Other recent examples include:
- Carma on its US$52 million Series A capital raise
- Deputy Group on its A$81 million Series B capital raise
- Dovetail Research on its US$63 million Series A capital raise
- Elenium Automation on its A$15 million Series A capital raising in 2019 and pre-IPO capital raising in 2021
- Limepay on its A$21 million capital raise
- Nano Home Loans (formerly Verteva) on its A$33 million capital raise
