French electric outboard maker TEMO gets €6 million financing boost

TEMO, the French manufacturer of ‘The lightest outboard motor in the world‘ has completed a €6 Million (≈6.5M USD) Series A financing round with US impact fund At One Ventures, the Ecotechnologies 2 fund – which is managed on behalf of the French government by Bpifrance as part of the France 2030 programme – and business angels.

Temo was founded in 2018 by Alexandre Seux and Justine Perussel. The first motor model offered was  the Temo-450, with 450 watts (.45 kilowatts) of power. It looks almost like a wand with a propeller on one end and a trigger on the other and weighs only 4.4 kg/ 9.7 lbs – including the batteries. Some call teh ingenious device ‘an electric paddle’. It gets locked into a bracket on the boat – very similar to an oarlock for a rowing boat – and the user has an effective and highly portable motor for a small dingy or RIB.

In Plugboats’ first article about TEMO (January 2020), we said ‘It will be interesting to see what happens with the TEMO. So far it has been a great success. The first 100 units, for delivery this summer, have sold out at the introductory price of €1,000.‘

Four years later, we know what happens with TEMO. That product, the TEMO 450, has achieved sales of 5,000 units across 15 countries.

Read Plugboats’ first article about TEMO from 2019

The success of the 450 led the company to look at a higher power model, the TEMO-1000, in September of 2022. It has double the power (1000 watts of power) and 27 kg (≈ 55 pounds) of static thrust – enough to nicely push a small sailboat.

Thanks to this first round of Series A funding, the company will be able to keep expanding and accelerate the development of its range. The ambition is to add three new power units to its catalogue by 2027, so that ‘the entire fleet of small sailing yachts and recreational craft can be powered electrically’. 

The funds will be used for more than development. They will also be used to expand the dealer network and sales pipeline, particularly in the US.

TEMO co-founder and CEO Alexandre Seux said “The combination of At One Ventures and Bpifrance makes an excellent investment team for TEMO. They will help us grow our business internationally and continue to build our vision for a carbon-free recreational boating sector. This funding enables us to accelerate our product roadmap and distribution, including in North America.”

At One Ventures is a US fund that invests “towards a world where humanity is a net positive to nature.” Some of the companies in their portfolio include Helios, which is decarbonizing steel production; Material Evolution, which has a cement replacement made from 95% hyper-local waste streams; and Semtive vertical axis micro wind turbines

Bpifrance (Banque publique d’investissement) is a French public sector investment bank with the goal of helping to grow the economy of France by helping entrepreneurs thrive. TEMO manufacturing facilities are in the country’s Pays de la Loire region, and almost 70% of the components used in the motors come from French suppliers.

To support its growth, TEMO plans to recruit 100 employees over the coming five years. 

Laurie MENOUD, co-founder of leading investor At One Ventures, says “At One is convinced of the benefits of electric power for boating and we are delighted to support TEMO in accelerating this transition and helping to protect the oceans. We were very impressed by TEMO’s innovations and the dynamism of its team.”

Alexandre WAGNER, Investment Director of the Ecotechnologies 2 fund managed on behalf of the French government as part of France 2030 initiatives is delighted to support a solution to enable carbon-free boating: “TEMO motors seemed to us to be a highly appropriate solution for meeting the growing challenge of zero direct emissions in the boating sector.

The company’s products stand out from the competition thanks to their low weight, ergonomic design and innovative use.” Blueprint Partners, a firm specialising in fundraising, and law firms Goodwin Procter, Chammas & Marcheteau, and Oratio avocats supported TEMO in this round of financing.

You can see all the specs for the TEMO 450 and TEMO 1000 in the Plugboats Guide to Electric Motors Under 5 kW.