Angell, a French smart electric bike startup, has announced that it is declaring insolvency and seeking judicial liquidation through the courts. In a message to customers, company co-founder and CEO Marc Simoncini confirmed the unfortunate news, stating, “It’s over for Angell,” and attributing the downfall to a hardware problem. He also expressed regret that, despite the team’s dedication, the issue was insurmountable.
The Rise and Fall of Angell’s Smart E-Bike
Founded in 2019, Angell set out to create an electric bike packed with smart features. The bike featured a small color touch screen on the handlebar to display essential information, including turn-by-turn directions. It also offered Bluetooth connectivity to sync with your phone, along with an integrated lock, alarm system, GPS chip, and cellular modem. Angell’s e-bike aimed to compete with other European smart bike manufacturers like Cowboy and VanMoof, the latter of which also filed for bankruptcy in 2023, with new ownership attempting to relaunch the brand.
Despite the bike’s innovative features, Angell faced significant reliability issues. The company’s latest problem with the first-generation bikes has proven to be the tipping point. According to Angell, the bike’s frame was prone to breakage due to manufacturing defects, particularly in the welding of the tubes.
Angell’s Outsourced Manufacturing Process
Angell does not manufacture its own bikes. Instead, it partnered with SEB, the French industrial giant behind brands like All-Clad, Krups, and Moulinex, to outsource the production process. Additionally, Angell worked with a third-party design company, Kickmaker. In its communications with customers, Angell attempted to shift some of the blame for these design flaws to its partners. However, as the company is the one that sold the bikes, it remains financially responsible for the defects.
The company faces the dilemma of either recalling up to 7,000 faulty bikes or reimbursing its customers—both options are costly and unsustainable. Consequently, Angell has opted for insolvency proceedings. Further legal cases are likely to determine the responsibility for the manufacturing defects between Angell, SEB, and Kickmaker.
Angell bike owners, particularly those with first-generation models, are now left with unsafe bikes. The company has also warned that it may eventually turn off its servers, which would impact features like electric assistance and the smart lock, leaving recent customers potentially stranded.
What The Author Thinks
Angell’s fall highlights the fragile nature of the startup ecosystem, especially in niche markets like smart bikes. The company’s initial promise was exciting, but its failure to address critical manufacturing issues undermined its potential. While outsourcing manufacturing is common, it’s clear that Angell’s reliance on external partners for quality control ultimately led to its downfall. For startups in similar fields, this is a cautionary tale: the product’s reliability must never be compromised, and it’s vital to take ownership of every step in the production process. Unfortunately, for Angell’s customers, it’s a loss they may not recover from easily.
Featured image credit: Vitya_maly via GoodFon
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