Money Moves: Motobyo launched two crowdfunding campaigns to raise $4M

Motobyo seeks $4 million raise with crowdfunding campaigns

Motobyo, the Horsham-based startup with a platform that streamlines the process of buying and selling cars, launched two crowdfunding campaigns through Netcapital and Fundable last month with the goal of raising $4 million. The company said the funding will be used to support its growth, including expanding services beyond the Greater Philadelphia region.

Founders Ron Averett and George Lekas previously invested $1.1 million to build out the technology and create their business and marketing plan. The company later raised $2.5 million to support the platform’s beta launch last August. Technical.ly previously reported that the platform launched in the Philly area for sellers with the expectation that buyers would come from around the country.

“We are pleased with the traction of the business during our beta launch,” said Averett, Motobyo’s CEO, in a statement. “We are already experiencing more than 3,500 individuals requesting our vehicle liquidation services monthly. Although our primary focus has been on the Philadelphia DMA we have been actively conducting tests nationally and now have account holders in more than 40 states across the country. Looking ahead, we see a clear roadmap to accelerate our expansion and growth.”

They hope to expand to the rest of Pennsylvania, as well as North Jersey, New York, Baltimore, DC, Northern Virginia, Chicago, Dallas, Cincinnati, Atlanta and Birmingham.

The Motobyo platform allows users to get a quote for the car they want to sell, list it on a marketplace, and access third-party services like insurance, escrow services and transportation quotes. Motobyo’s partners include Firestone Complete Auto Care, Meineke and Midas for car inspection and services. The company also works with Credible for financing, The Zebra for insurance, Acertus for titling, Carfax and Autocheck for car history, and uShip for vehicle transportation.

University City Science Center gets $750,000

The University City Science Center received a $750,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education with the help of Pennsylvania Sen. Vincent Hughes, the nonprofit announced in April. This grant comes from Pandemic Response Funding, which aims to address public health and economic challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

This funding will be used to support several equity-minded Science Center programs, including the Health Equity Research Fellowship, Founders Fellowship, the youth-focused FirstHand program and the Build an Understanding of Lab Basics (BULB) program.

“This is foundational funding that coalesces our work in supporting equitable life sciences and healthcare innovation,” said Tiffany Wilson, president and CEO of the Science Center, in a statement. “We are immensely grateful to Senator Hughes for his leadership in this space and for his instrumental role in bringing this inclusive investment to West Philly.”

Annovis Bio raises $8.7 million

Annovis Bio, a New York Stock Exchange-traded company developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, announced last month that it had raised $8.7 million. This funding will support two of the Berwyn company’s studies, phase three of an early Parkinson’s disease study, and phase 2/3 of a moderate Alzheimer’s disease study.

A majority of the funds came from an at-the-market equity offering sales agreement with BofA Securities and ThinkEquity.

Annovis raised $7.66 million from sales of common stock associated with this sales agreement, which started on March 31 and ended April 9. The company also raised $1.06 million from selling shares of common stock in a private placement to members of Annovis’ board of directors and management.

And more moves

Here are a few other raises Technical.ly spotted from public SEC filings, but a disclaimer: These companies have not publicly announced these raises and haven’t responded to Technical.ly’s request for comment about them.

• Aston-based oil tech company Holganix raised $2.4 million.
• Cheyney-based Navrogen, which is researching therapeutics for humoral immuno-oncology suppression, raised $9 million.
• King of Prussia-based renewable energy tech company InductEV raised $19 million.