Utah-based EV startup Hypercraft lands $6.5 million to electrify racing vehicles, watercraft, and more

With rising interest in recreational boating around the world, the outboard engines market surpassed $10.5 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow by 5 percent from 2023 to 2032. However, most outboard engines still run on fossil fuels, which increases CO2 emissions.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), transportation was responsible for more than 29% of greenhouse emissions in the U.S. in 2019. To reverse this trend, onboard engine makers are moving away from fossil-fuel-powered engines to produce electric outboards that produce zero emissions.

One company that’s disrupting this space is Hypercraft, a Utah-based EV startup that builds and sells complete electric drive systems to a variety of B2C and B2B buyers, including customers in the on-road, off-road recreation, racing, resto-mod, fleet, and marine industries.

Founded just four years ago, Hypercraft has quickly grown to become one of the industry’s first and leading providers of complete and turn-key electric drive systems for vehicle manufacturers to meet today’s e-mobility demands.

To further grow its operations, Hypercraft announced today it has closed $6.5 million in seed funding at a post-money valuation of $51.5 million. The round was led by RevRoad Capital, with participation from individual investors and early customer angels.

In an email, Hypercraft told TechStartups that it plans to use the fresh capital infusion to hire additional engineering staff, EV battery research and development, and capital expenditures to support scaled manufacturing. The company is also collaborating with 17 unique vehicle manufacturers across multiple transportation segments, including marine, automotive, government, racing, and commercial.

The raise will also be used to support its founding mission of advancing the electrification of transportation, with a focus on the high-performance capabilities of EVs.

In a statement, David Mann, managing director at RevRoad Capital said: “Hypercraft is a high-growth company that we’ve had our eye on for over a year now. Their leadership team combines innovative manufacturing experience and real-world business ingenuity to provide vehicle manufacturing with a path to electrification. We’re thrilled to partner with Hypercraft, as it disrupts the rapidly growing EV sector in a variety of industries.”

Founded in 2019 by CEO Jake Hawksworth, Eric Ream, and Jon Miller, Hypercraft’s team combines decades of experience in product development and marketing — with specific industry experience relating to high-performance vehicles.

Hawksworth also commented: “We’re incredibly excited about this new injection of funding and what it means for the rapid growth of our business and operations. Electric vehicles and battery technology are advancing at a breakneck speed right now and we’re grateful that RevRoad Capital sees our vision for an electric future powered by Hypercraft. Electric propulsion is the future, not only of transportation, but of performance. We’re here to lead the charge for our customers and to help steer the narrative toward all the exciting benefits of EV.”

Hypercraft has notably worked within the racing industry and its sanctioning bodies to effectively durability-test the performance of Hypercraft’s complete EV powertrain systems in extreme conditions. Affirming Hypercraft’s innovations, the company landed in the top five of the SEMA Launch Pad in 2022 and also helped launch the first all-electric EV-spec class series for Ultra4 and King of the Hammers. Hypercraft also partnered with Canadian race car company Scalar Performance to debut Scalar’sSCR1 — a NASA-sanctioned amateur spec race car, based on the Toyota GR86 and powered by a 245kW Hypercraft electric drive system.

In 2022 Hypercraft acquired Stealth EV, launched the HyperPack EV battery, and gained traction within the marine space with customers like Halevai boats and Mayla Yachts.