On Thursday 13th June, we co-hosted an evening event with the team from Out of Thin Air (OOTA) who are seeking to solve global supply chain issues in the premium bike market through 3D printing.

Coinciding with National Bike Week, members of our investor network were invited along to the flagship concept store of premium Swiss cycling apparel brand ASSOS on Regent Street to meet the OOTA team and see a prototype of their product.

They are currently fundraising through Growthdeck as they embark on their plans to completely change how high-end leisure bikes are made and sold by utilising a specific type of 3D printing known as laser additive manufacturing (LAM).

Many incumbent performance cycle brands are dependent on Chinese manufacturers for components and they often struggle to respond effectively to the evolving demands of consumers, leading to very long lead times for production.

OOTA will offer consumers bespoke performance bikes, made to order using LAM, which will allow frames to be made by a UK-wide network of 3D manufacturers with far faster lead times than traditional performance cycle makers.

The company’s agile manufacturing techniques will mean these bespoke bikes can be produced locally for consumers in as little as four weeks.

OOTA’s ability to design these bikes comes from its management team who were crucial in designing models which have over 100 Olympic medals and Tour de France stage wins. They also designed and printed the bike which helped Filippo Ganna set the Hour Record in 2022.

The management team, who all joined us for the event on Regent Street, are:

• Henry Furniss (Co-Founder) who previously founded, built and exited custom cycle maker WyndyMilla and exclusive mobile personal trainer business The Firm
• Peter Abraham (Co-Founder), an experienced marketing leader who has built campaigns for brands including Nike, Red Bull and Amazon
• Luke Scheybeler (Co-Founder and Creative Director) who previously co-founded cycling apparel maker Rapha, which was sold to Walmart for £200m in 2015
• Dimitris Katsanis (OOTA’s 3D printing lead and consultant engineer), who is a legendary cycle designer who helped propel Team GB’s cycling team to success in 2012.

They have already raised £250k SEIS investment and are now seeking to raise a £185k EIS-qualifying tranche which should allow them to complete the R&D phase and be ready for full commercial rollout.

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