186: The story of premium two wheeler Cake Motorbikes with founder Stefan Ytterborn

186: The story of premium two wheeler Cake Motorbikes with founder Stefan Ytterborn

Author: Oliver Bruce and Horace Dediu June 9, 2023 Duration: 37:42

This week Oliver interviewed Stefan Ytterborn, founder and CEO of Cake Motorcycles from Sweden. They’ve emerged as one of the worlds leading motorbike manufacturers, solidly occupying the premium end of the market with very Scandinavian designed versions of electric motorbikes, and a strong focus on both commuters as well as backcountry use cases.

Oliver had a chance to ride some of these bikes around Santa Monica when he was doing the tour of Southern California and was really impressed with the pickup and handling of these bikes, especially for someone like him who’s new-ish to motorbikes.

In this episode, we dig into the history and how they decided to get into this, as well as design, funding, and their recent deals with producers in both Asia and Mexico. We found this a super interesting episode and hope that you do too.


Specifically they discuss:

  • How Cake was founded
  • How they have chosen to focus on design. 
  • How Stefan Stefan has thought about manufacturing and fundraising to over the years. 
  • The recent announcements from Mexico and China of the large volumes of bikes that have been contracted.


And with that, here’s Stefan!

We're in Amsterdam right now with the whole team for ⁠Micromobility Europe⁠, hosting the Startup Awards. We have over 60 companies presenting and vying for the top spot. So many amazing vehicles and people around. We're looking forward to sharing more of what we find in time. Also, Oliver is going to be at Eurobike in Frankfurt from the 21-24th of June so please ping him a message on Twitter if you’re going to be there too and want to meet up.

Catch us on Twitter ⁠⁠@MicromobilityCo⁠⁠. ⁠⁠Horace⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Oliver⁠⁠ are also active on their personal accounts and would love to hear from you.

Our ⁠https://micromobility.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠ is completely free, and you can subscribe to have it in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday morning.

We’re also on ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ and⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠.


Ed Niedermeyer, an author and analyst with a sharp focus on the automotive world, guides Ride AI alongside co-hosts Horace Dediu, Oliver Bruce, and James Gross. Together, they navigate the complex intersection where artificial intelligence meets transportation, a space that's rapidly reshaping how we think about movement, business, and urban life. This isn't just a series of interviews; it's a deep exploration of the forces driving change, from autonomous vehicles and electric scooters to the broader economic and societal shifts they trigger. Each episode pulls back the curtain on the strategies and struggles of founders, investors, and engineers who are building the future of mobility. You'll hear candid discussions that go beyond the hype, focusing on the practical realities of investment, the nuances of technological adoption, and the lessons learned from both successes and failures in the field. For anyone curious about the business models behind the tech or the investment theses shaping this volatile sector, this podcast offers a grounded, insightful perspective. Tune in for conversations that are as much about the journey of innovation as they are about the destination.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

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