(BRAIN) — TheInformation.com, a tech trade title, is reporting that Sequoia Capital's China wing has made a recent investment in the e-bike brand Aventon. The investment would value the company at $590 million, according to the report, which cites two anonymous sources. The article did not specify the amount of the investment but said Aventon was valued at $200 million earlier this year, likely referring to a significant investment made by China's Gao Rong Capital in March.
JW Chang founded Aventon about 9 years ago as a fixed gear bike brand, but quickly moved into e-bikes. It sells online, through several hundred IBDs and through Best Buy.
The company is said to employ about 350 people in China and about 70 in the U.S. Last year the company said it plans to open a 'highly automated' U.S. e-bike factory by 2025.
Sequoia Capital is one of the best-known Silicon Valley venture capital firms, with investments in Apple, Google, Cisco and many other tech firms; it reportedly has about $85 billion in assets under management. Sequoia Heritage, a private investment partnership founded with investment from the Sequoia Capital partners, is an investor in Outside Inc., the parent of Bicycle Retailer.
