Segway: Raising Millions More

Could it be that the Segway X2 model for golf nuts — replete with golf bag carrier — is becoming a hit? Something has given the folks at the “personal transportation device” company, reason to begin raising a Series D, just months after closing their last tranche of a $35 million Series C funding.

According to a regulatory filing, Segway has raised $5 million of a $14 million target so far, including from Masdar Clean Tech Fund. The new round comes atop $171 million that the 8-year-old, Bedford, New Hampshire-based company has already raised in its first three rounds of funding, including from Credit Suisse Private Equity, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, DAG Ventures and Masdar.

Segways, which sell for roughly $6,000 apiece, are battery powered and can travel up to 24 miles on a single charge. The company doesn’t disclose sales, but conceivably its numbers are up. Though selling through a gloomy macroeconomic climate, it has soaring gas prices on its side. Segway also advertises that 450 police departments and counting use Segways (I’m guessing in part because of those soaring gas prices). I highly doubt it’s driving Segway’s Series D, but it’s also worth noting that there’s a (very) small but growing network of Segway Polo-playing teams around the world. The most public proponent of the, er, sport, has been Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and his team, the Silicon Valley Aftershocks.

To learn more, check out Monday’s edition of PEWeek. My colleague Alex Haislip has reported on the company and funding in a much more detailed way.