The $3,500 E-Scooter Gunning to Be the iPhone of Micromobility

After launching a high-end, cyberpunk-style electric motorbike that costs more than some used cars, Andreessen Horowitz-funded Brooklyn startup Infinite Machine is finally getting practical.

It just unveiled the Olto: a $3,495 electric scooter that looks like it escaped from an industrial designer’s mood board. (That’s not surprising since the company was founded by brothers Joseph and Eddie Cohen, both erstwhile Apple employees.)

It’s the second vehicle from Infinite Machine, whose first product, the P1, made headlines last year for its $10,000 price tag, 55 mph top speed, and Tesla Cybertruck-esque, American brutalist aesthetic. That model generated a flurry of tech press, but its price and motorcycle-level specs made it a niche toy for wealthy hobbyists.

The Olto, by contrast, doesn’t require a motorcycle license, and is designed to live on city streets and in bike lanes.

It’s built from steel and aluminum, has a 750W software-limited motor (capable of 2kW), and ships with a removable battery that can be charged indoors, offering around 40 miles of range on a single charge. It looks slick, rides fast (up to 33 mph in off-road mode), and will sell for one-third the price of its big sibling.

The company is taking $100 deposits on the vehicle, which is supposed to ship in the fall.

Drop your mobile phone into the handlebar holder and the Olto offers Bluetooth unlocking, GPS and LTE tracking, a built-in alarm system, and even Apple AirTag integration. Like the P1, it runs its own OS and supports over-the-air firmware updates, meaning Infinite Machine can push new features or diagnostics without a trip to the shop.

Another cool feature: an open-face helmet that locks to the seat when not in use, so it’s always available.

There’s also a full ecosystem in the works: modular accessories like cargo racks, child carriers, passenger seats, and custom bags will mount directly to the Olto’s chassis. And the company is emphasizing security and serviceability, two sore spots that helped sink other, now-defunct e-bike brands.

Infinite Machine raised $9 million from Andreessen Horowitz’s American Dynamism fund, the same venture group backing space startups, defense contractors, and crypto infrastructure plays. The bet: that there’s a durable business in building highly designed, software-integrated electric vehicles for U.S. cities.

That may sound optimistic. Micromobility in the U.S. has been an industry of false starts. From Bird’s public flameout to Revel’s pivot to EV charging, the scooter space is littered with sleek hardware and broken business models. But Infinite Machine isn’t going after rideshare or rentals—it wants to sell personal vehicles to consumers the way Apple sells iPhones.

If it works, Infinite Machine might not just make scooters cool. It might make them viable.

Edited by Andrew Hayward