Hyperloop One raised $50 million to add to the funds needed to keep one of Elon Musk's pet projects rolling.
A Forbes report indicated that the additional $50 million came from the sales of the Series C convertible notes. That figure raises the funds for the Hyperloop One to $160 million. The funds will be mainly used for research and development.
Former Uber chief financial officer Brent Callinicos has joined the Hyperloop One team as the chief financial advisor to help the company keep their finances in check. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem of the DP World Group of Dubai, one of the Hyperloop One's new investors, is now part of the company's board along with Summa Group chairman Ziyavudin Magomedov.
Hyperloop One is Musk's vision of a transportation system that can bring passengers and goods through a series of steel vacuum tube networks while on a train-like structure. The cargo pod will move at a speed of 700 miles per hour. With that speed, Hyperloop will be three times faster than the current high-speed rail.
A prototype called the Devloop is being developed outside of Las Vegas. The Devloop is scheduled to be tested in a half-kilometer system in early 2017. If this succeeds the next test will involve two kilometers. If everything goes smoothly, Hyperloop will then focus on using the technology for high-speed passenger and cargo transport.
The company is targeting Dubai as a possible site of the Hyperloop. Other places where the company is looking to operate are Los Angeles and Long beach in the United States, Russia, and Scandinavia.
Despite the good news, Hyperloop One is still embroiled in a bit of controversy. One of its co-founders, former SpaceX engineer Brogan BamBrogan, has filed a lawsuit against Hyperloop One after he was ousted from the company. BamBrogan is seeking an unspecified amount as punitive damages. The company filed a counter-suit against BamBrogan and three others for attempting gain control of the company, violating agreements, disclosing proprietary information, and breaching the fiduciary duty to Hyperloop One. The company is seeking $200 million in punitive damages.
Hyperloop is not directly connected to Musk's other endeavors particularly Tesla and SpaceX where he both acts as the CEO.
