CellLink has developed a new way to connect battery cells and packs and transfer power and data to vehicle sensors, modules and electronic control units, according to the company.
see photosStrategic investors in the new round include BMW iVentures, Lear Corp, Robert Bosch Venture Capital & 3M.
California startup CellLink has closed a $250 million funding round backed by several big auto industry players, with a path-breaking product replacing traditional wiring harnesses, the company said on Wednesday. CellLink has developed a new way to connect battery cells and packs and transfer power and data to vehicle sensors, modules and electronic control units, according to the company. Established in 2011 and based in San Carlos, CellLink has been increasing the production of its lightweight flexible circuits since 2019.
A large area “flex harness” can combine the functions of many traditional wiring harnesses, the company said. This could significantly reduce weight, mass and cost while enabling more automated and modular vehicle assembly, it said.
“We are now in the hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles,” Kevin Cockley, chief executive and co-founder, said in an interview.
Although he declined to specify which automakers are using the CellLink flex harness, Tesla is the only US carmaker to have produced so many electric vehicles.
SellLink, which has raised about $315 million, said the latest money will be used to build a factory in Georgetown, Texas, which will open later this year.
“We’re building a 25-line factory (there) and all those lines are spoken for,” Cockley said.
Eventually, he said, CellLink hopes to find applications for its products in commercial vehicles, agriculture, military and aerospace.
Strategic investors in the new round include BMW iVentures, Lear Corp, Robert Bosch Venture Capital and 3M, all of which had previously invested. Another early investor, Ford Motor, did not join the latest round.
The Series D round was led by Boston hedge fund WhaleRock Capital and included T. Rowe Price, Fidelity Management, D1 Capital Partners, Standard Investments and Atrides, as well as existing investors Fontinalis Partners, Franklin Templeton and Tinicum Venture Partners .
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