Outboard motor startup Pure Watercraft is selling for parts

One promising player within the growing electric jet ski market is now not available and is being sold for parts.

Pure Watercraft was founded in 2011 with the goal of replacing gas-powered outboards with all-electric engines. We profiled the corporate in 2016 when it began taking pre-orders for its first industrial outboards, and in 2020, Pure raised $23 million to ramp up production. GM even acquired a 25% stake in Pure as a part of its big investment in electric infrastructure.

The company offered an electrical outboard and battery that may very well be mounted to a ship like several other outboard, or as a package cope with a rigid dinghy or pontoon. With prices starting from $21,600 for just the drive to just about $100,000 for the complete boat, Pure’s products were probably not cheaper than gas options, but they were definitely much cleaner and quieter—something boaters were increasingly opting for. (Not to say the dearth of gas costs.)

But the tough market has seemingly put a damper on Pure’s ambitions. The company entered bankruptcy (a style of alternative type of bankruptcy) in July, filing paperwork in King County, Washington, where it is headquartered. In August, it also announced a planned multimillion-dollar factory in West Virginia we cannot move forward.

The documents list a big selection of creditors, from individual investors to lending banks to the most important, GM, which put in about $35 million. But it wasn’t just money: Pure’s assets included about $25 million in “production support,” “know-how,” name licensing, and other types of noncash assets. (Such tangible investments are fairly common.)

On the assets side, we discover $3.6 million in “finished products,” presumably assembled engines and batteries manufactured by Pure, even though it’s unclear why that wasn’t distributed to the 900-plus individuals who put down the cash (or whether it’s going to be refunded). It also lists $25.5 million in “raw materials,” however it’s unclear what that may be—other documents detailing the sale of assets like boats and batteries don’t come near that quantity.

TechCrunch reached out to each Pure and GM for comment on the matter. GM has not provided any substantive response, and Pure has yet to reply.

The electric jet ski industry is growing but still in its infancy, with startups like Candela, Navier, FleetZero and Zin Boats all working toward cleaner, more efficient waterways and infrastructure.