Taylor Wessing advises Leitmotif on 30 million Euro Series B financing of DeepDrive

Munich area start-up DeepDrive, which is commercializing dual-rotor, radial flux motors, has raised €30 million in fresh capital in a Series B financing round. The round was led by the new transatlantic venture capital firm Leitmotif, with enthusiastic participation from existing investors BMW i Ventures, co-pace (Continental's corporate venture capital unit), UVC Partners and Bayern Kapital (through the Wachstumsfond Bayern). Leitmotif was advised by a Taylor Wessing team led by Berlin-based corporate/growth VC partners Dr. Norman Röchert and Dr. Armin Bartsch on all legal aspects of the transaction.

Founded in 2021, DeepDrive plans to use this funding to build up pilot production of its patented motor technology to accelerate the mass adoption of electric vehicles. The dual-rotor, radial flux design enables up to 20% more range, is less expensive to manufacture, and substantially reduces CO2 emissions compared to today’s electric motors. According to the company, the start-up is already working with eight of the world's largest carmakers.

Leitmotif is an independent venture capital firm backed by European industrial interests that actively bridges the innovation ecosystems of the U.S. and Europe. With investors in Palo Alto and Munich, Leitmotif’s first fund focuses on decarbonization start-ups transitioning from technological breakthrough to commercial scale.

Legal advisors Leitmotif

Taylor Wessing Germany: Lead Dr. Norman Röchert (Partner, Berlin), Co-Lead Dr. Armin Bartsch (Salary Partner, Berlin), Maria Weiers (Partner, Düsseldorf) Felix Paul (Professional Support Lawyer, Berlin), all Corporate/Growth VC; Nico Jänicke (Partner), Lea Krebs (Associate), both Employment, Pensions & Mobility, both Berlin, Gregor Schmid (Partner), Caroline Bunz (Associate), both Technology, Media & Telecoms, both Berlin; Dr. Tim Wünnemann (Partner), Matthias Swiderski (Senior Associate), both Commercial & Disputes & Investigations, both Berlin, Katrin Isabelle Schultz (Associate, Commercial, Berlin); Dr. Philipp Krusemarck (Salary Partner), Dr. Jacob Carl (Associate), both Intellectual Property, both Munich; Dr. Marco Hartmann-Rüppel (Partner, Competition, EU & Trade, Hamburg)