Founders: Daniel and Ben Carr

Lug+Carrie, a subscription eBike startup operating across Australia and the US West Coast, has secured an $18 million asset-backed debt facility to expand its fleet in both markets.

The non-dilutive financing was provided by Catalytic Impact Capital, a climate tech-focused boutique financier that has backed the six-year-old company for the past three years. Lug+Carrie expects the funding to put more than 15,000 people on eBikes across Australia and the US by 2028. The eBikes are marketed towards families and commuters as replacements for cars.

Founded by brothers Daniel and Ben Carr, the startup runs subscription eBike services in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, and operates on the US West Coast — in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Seattle — under the brand Wombi.

CEO and co-founder Daniel Carr said the company deliberately opted for debt over equity, as it has hard assets that generate recurring subscription revenue. The team argues that the adoption case is similar on both sides of the Pacific, with many car journeys being less than 5 km. It points to factors such as rising petrol prices, congestion, and investment in cycling infrastructure as shared tailwinds.

The company is betting the mass-adoption playbook seen in Europe can translate. Industry analysis shows that in Germany, 750,000 new company eBikes were leased in 2024, taking the total leased fleet to 2.1 million and generating more than $5 billion in turnover.