The archive · Hardware & Devices · Product decision · 2022–2025
Vammo's battery-swap bet: 5,000 e-motorcycles in São Paulo, $45M Series B in 2025
Brazilian startup bets delivery riders subscribe to electric motorcycles with unlimited battery swapping; 5,000 bikes and 150 stations by Oct 2025
Vammo
What the business is
Brazilian mobility startup that bundles electric motorcycles, maintenance, insurance, and unlimited battery swaps at street-corner stations into one monthly subscription for delivery riders.
Starting capital：US$8.5M seed (Sep 2022, Monashees/Construct/Claure); US$45M Series B (Oct 2025) — over US$80M total per funding trackers
How it started
Founded in São Paulo in 2022 by Jack Sarvary (early Rappi operations lead) and Billy Blaustein (ex-Tesla head of operations Europe), who saw Brazil's 35M+ motorcycle fleet and delivery boom run on gasoline while upfront cost and range anxiety blocked electric adoption; launched as Leoparda Electric in Nov 2022, renamed Vammo in Jan 2023.
What happened
Raised US$8.5M seed (Sep 2022) from Monashees, Construct Capital and Claure Capital, then scaled to 5,000 motorcycles and 150+ swap stations in São Paulo serving riders for Uber, 99, Rappi and iFood; passed one million battery swaps in 2025; closed US$45M Series B in Oct 2025 led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund with Qualcomm Ventures, 2150, Monashees, Construct Capital, Maniv Mobility and Endeavor Catalyst.
How it ended up
Still running and expanding: Series B funds go to R$500M+ of production capacity in Manaus, new Brazilian and LatAm markets, and hybrid ethanol-electric motorcycles (as of late 2025).
Background
Vammo is a São Paulo mobility startup founded in 2022 by Jack Sarvary (early Rappi operations lead) and Billy Blaustein (ex-Tesla Europe head of operations). The bet: Brazilian delivery riders would abandon gasoline motorcycles for a subscription that bundles an electric bike, maintenance, insurance and unlimited battery swaps, priced about 30% below gasoline running costs. The company launched as Leoparda Electric in November 2022 and rebranded to Vammo in January 2023.
The wedge was swapping instead of charging. Riders exchange a drained battery in about two minutes at Vammo stations, and the company builds its own battery packs, charging hardware and IoT software in Manaus. Subscription plans started around R$149–R$299 per month. After a US$8.5M seed in September 2022 from Monashees, Construct Capital and Claure Capital, Vammo scaled to 5,000 electric motorcycles and 150+ swap stations across São Paulo, serving riders for Uber, 99, Rappi and iFood.
By 2025 the model had crossed one million battery swaps, and in October 2025 Vammo closed a US$45M Series B led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund, with Qualcomm Ventures, 2150, Monashees, Construct Capital, Maniv Mobility and Endeavor Catalyst. Electrek covered the round on October 30, 2025, calling Vammo Latin America's battery-swapping champion, and the company announced plans to invest more than R$500M in Manaus production plus new hybrid ethanol-electric motorcycles.
The case matters because Vammo took the Gogoro playbook — swap-station infrastructure — and made it a subscription product for Latin America's delivery economy, where motorcycles are work tools and riders need constant uptime.
What has to be true
- Brazil's 35M+ motorcycle fleet and delivery boom gave Vammo a giant market where fuel cost is a daily business expense, not a lifestyle choice.
- Renting bikes with unlimited swaps removed the two blockers to electric adoption: high purchase price and range anxiety.
- Owning hardware, batteries and software in-house let Vammo control costs and adapt the system to Brazilian conditions instead of relying on off-the-shelf parts.
- Riding the delivery platforms' own growth (Uber, 99, Rappi, iFood) gave the fleet a demand channel without spending on consumer marketing.
What can be applied
An infrastructure bet can start city-by-city: Vammo owned bikes, batteries and stations and sold one subscription, proving battery swapping works before waiting for riders to buy electric motorcycles.
Aftermath
As of late October 2025, Vammo operated 5,000+ electric motorcycles and 150+ swap stations in São Paulo, served riders working for Uber, 99, Rappi and iFood, and had passed one million battery swaps. It was using its US$45M Series B to expand manufacturing in Manaus, enter new markets in Brazil and Latin America, and develop hybrid ethanol-electric motorcycles.
Sources
- Vammo leads Latin America's battery-swapping revolution as region's e-motorcycle market surges
- Vammo raises $45M Series B round
- Leoparda Electric recalcula rota e muda para Vammo depois de três meses
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe what you are building, and see who is betting on the same thing.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card