Lithuanian fund Contrarian Ventures invests in Ember

The Vilnius-based VC firm Contrarian Ventures has invested in Ember, a Scottish company that builds an all-electric intercity bus network. This investment round amounted to $14 million.

Investment details

• Ember, a company founded in Edinburgh in 2019 by Pierce Glennie and Keith Bradbury. Ember provides a fleet of 24 electric buses. The company buys its buses from the Chinese company Yutong, and works with them on the design, battery layout, and architecture of the buses.
• The startup has also developed software for its bus fleet. It helps automatically allocate drivers and vehicles for specific shifts and routes and monitors the service for issues, such as unexpected charging problems, a no-show driver, temperature control on the bus, and traffic-related delays. After monitoring, the technology allows notify passengers about a delay, have a driver turn up the heating or escalate the issue to an operations team member.

Contrarian Ventures joined the $14 million Series A round for the company. It was led by the Prague-based Inven Capital, the London-based VC 2150, and the Berlin-based AENU, with participation from some existing investors. Ember will use the investment to expand across Scotland and the UK.

About Contarian Ventures

Established in in 2017, Contrarian Ventures is a seed-stage venture company focused on investment in climate tech startups from Europe and Israel. The fund usually invests from €1.5 million to €4 million. Currently, it has offices in Berlin and London. The founder and managing partner of the company is Rokas Peciulaitis.