Friday, November 5, 2010

WrightSpeed Gets $5M for Hybrid Electric Technology

San Jose-based Wrightspeed, a firm developing extended-range, hybrid electric drive systems headed by Tesla motors co-founder Ian Wright, said late Thursday that it has received $5M in a Series A funding. Source of the funding was not disclosed. According to Wrightspeed, its technology is specifically targeted at high fuel consumption and high performance vehicles. As part of the funding, David Welch, co-founder, EVP, and Chief Strategy Officer of Infinera, joins the company's board. Ian Wright was the first employee of Tesla Motors, serving as Vice President of Vehicle Development, and helped Martin Eberhard bootstrap the development of Tesla's electric cars; Wright left Tesla in 2004. More information »