UK-based Superlight has raised an oversubscribed $21 million Series A, co-led by Engine Ventures and 2150, taking total funding to $33 million. The commercial EV maker will fund its UK factory and US market preparation for the OV-1, a clean-sheet electric truck purpose-built for middle-mile logistics rather than retrofitted from diesel.
Commercial electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Superlight has raised an oversubscribed $21 million Series A funding round, which it will use to complete its UK manufacturing facility, fulfill initial UK and EU sales, and prepare federalized vehicles for customer testing ahead of US market entry.
The round, which brings the company’s total funding to $33 million, was co-led by Engine Ventures and 2150. Superlight, founded in 2016 by Noamaan and Sheban Siddiqi, is headquartered in Yateley, UK, with additional offices in Seattle, Washington.
The company is targeting the middle mile – the transport of goods between regional distribution centers and local sorting facilities – which it argues has been overlooked compared to first-mile tractor trailers and last-mile vans. The global middle-mile logistics market is expected to reach $137.97 billion in 2026.
Superlight says its OV-1 vehicle is designed specifically around electric propulsion rather than retrofitted from diesel architecture. The modular, customizable vehicle uses a clean-sheet design, all-digital powertrain and aerospace design principles. The company claims the OV-1 achieves 50% more cargo capacity at 50% less energy expense than 7.5-tonne truck competitors, generates 73% energy cost savings per pallet per kilometer, and requires one-tenth of the capital of conventional heavy-industry truck manufacturing.
“By harnessing the inherent advantages of electric propulsion and software-centric manufacturing, we’re flipping the economics of commercial EVs, unlocking massive cost savings that also happen to provide significant environmental benefits,” says Noamaan Siddiqi, co-founder and chief executive of Superlight. “Our purpose-built EV platform enables transformative performance and safety advantages that can’t be duplicated by retrofitting electric into legacy trucks.”
The company reports more than 500,000km of powertrain mileage, including commercial pilots of the OV-1 in the UK with e-commerce and ground-handling providers. Its production system incorporates SuperVisor, a digital twin of the factory that monitors shopfloor production time and predicts quality issues, and an autonomous logistics and integrated service assistant that uses sensor data to optimize vehicle performance and driver behavior.
“Superlight owns the entire chain of designing, building and delivering its EVs, which allows us to provide unique vehicle features to continually optimize for innovation and efficiency,” adds Siddiqi.
According to Israel Ruiz, president and general partner at Engine Ventures, the company is replacing legacy manufacturing and driving mechanics with a new architecture. “The company has an opportunity to deliver massive performance, safety, efficiency and cost improvements to brands, fleet owners and transport companies, while at the same time wiping out particulate matter emissions,” he says.
Superlight’s team brings experience from Bentley Motors, DENSO, Porsche and Microsoft, and the company says it has integrated more than 70 proprietary inventions across design, materials, software and battery technology into its platform.
