INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
While Bird, Lime, Skip, Scoot, Uber, Lyft and more compete for on-demand micromobility, a new startup invented a vehicle worthy of ownership
The Unagi looks downright futuristic with its classy paint jobs, foldable body, LED screen and built-in lights
why Unagi has become a hit with musicians like Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper, Halsey, Steve Aoki and teen pop megastar Billie Eilish,
who use the scooter to rip around the empty venues as they soundcheck before concerts
Paparazzi shots of those moments have spurred demand for the $990 dual-motor and $840 single-motor Unagis, with co-founder David Hyman
copied by cheap knock-offs, Unagi has raised a $3.15 million seed round led by Menlo Ventures
Building on its $750,000 in Kickstarter, angel and founder-contributed funding, the cash will go to building out a distribution network and
magic of the Unagi Model One is how it balances speed, battery, weight, price and style so it works for most anything and everyone
airless wheels and narrow handlebars that can make gravelly roads precarious
The high-pitched beeeeeep of its horn is also so annoying that people are more likely to cover their ears than get out of your way, but
Hyman promises his 12-person team will fix that.Where Unagi truly excels is in its looks
The lithe curves of its polished carbon fiber frame are accented with candy paint jobs in matte black, white, grey and blue
It ditches the bike handlebar vibe for something closer to Space Shuttle controls
And while many people scoff at scooter riders, I saw those smirks turn into curious awe as I flew by.Hyman got the idea for a premium
scooter you own after a rental turned into a melty mess
He hustled to another nearby but someone else got there first
he wanted something better.Previously the CEO of audio fingerprinting giant Gracenote, and then Beats Music before it sold to Apple, Hyman
is known for his obsession with hi-fi speaker systems
slick vehicle they called the Swan
double-down on selling to more petite riders who could never carry the 46-lb Boosted Rev out of a train station
But the clock is ticking before copycats with similar silhouettes but inferior insides spring up
Meanwhile, Unagi must keep safety top-of-mind to avoid any disastrous crashes hurting customers and its brand
It also has to prove why the reliability of ownership is worth the price of renting a scooter hundreds of times.Scooters are part of a
powerful wave of new technologies that actually sell us back our time
When a 20-minute walk becomes a four-minute scoot, you gain something priceless
Urban landscapes unfold beneath their wheels as you explore new neighborhoods or parts of parks
I was once a diehard electric skateboarder until a crash on a Boosted Board shattered my ankle
Unagi is the first scooter that delivers that same gliding feeling of weightlessness and freedom but in a form-factor safe enough for most
