Tomi Viiala's Swiss Startup Viiala AG Builds Premium E-Bike Brand Targeting a Market That Doesn't Yet Exist

NYON, Switzerland, June 22, 2026 — Tomi Viiala, Co-Founder and CEO of Swiss mobility startup Viiala AG, is advancing the company's next-generation ultra-premium e-bike program toward a planned 2028 market debut, adding key industry partnerships and earning global recognition as one of the year's most influential innovators.

As Co-Founder and CEO of Viiala AG, Tomi Viiala represents a new generation of entrepreneurs who combine a performance mindset, systems thinking, and purpose-driven innovation to redefine entire categories rather than merely improve them. The company, based in Nyon, Switzerland, is a Swiss-based mobility company redefining what cycling stands for: from one option among many to the option people actively choose. Viiala AG operates as part of The Honourable Merchants Group (THMG), launched in September 2025 by co-founder François-Henri Bennahmias, who had a highly successful career at Audemars Piguet, where he drove significant growth increasing annual sales from roughly 600 million to 2.35 billion Swiss francs.

Tomi Viiala has been recognized by Arabia Business among the "World's 15 Most Inspiring & Innovative Visionaries of 2026," a distinction that underscores his standing as a globally respected leader in e-mobility, product innovation, and premium brand transformation. The recognition arrives as Viiala AG deepens its commercial partnerships and scales its engineering team ahead of the product launch. In January 2026, Viiala announced an integration partnership with Spoke Safety to bring a new level of safety and awareness for riders and drivers. Through Spoke Safety's platform, Viiala riders will experience bikes and cars connected digitally, offering mutual visibility even when hidden from view — a breakthrough that addresses a leading cause of crashes by helping to anticipate risks and trigger responses from both drivers and riders.

"Our partnership with Spoke Safety demonstrates Viiala's vision for rider safety and creating products that truly provide riders with the tools and features they need to stay as safe as possible, enjoy the ride, and ideally come to depend on the bike as their primary means of transportation," said Tomi Viiala, CEO and co-founder of Viiala AG. He added that the enhanced layer of safety will stand out for customers and is an important element for the future as cities, cars and devices continue to become more interconnected, offering a bike that not only moves through the world beautifully, but interacts with it intelligently.

Viiala has assembled 17 innovation partners, a milestone showcased at a private event hosted at the Museum of the Future in Dubai. For the cycling industry, businesses such as Pinion, Fox, Time, and Gates are among those on board. Viiala's global team includes professionals from aerospace, automotive engineering, software development, luxury goods, and mobility, alongside experienced bicycle industry specialists. Joining the Viiala team is Chief Innovation Advisor Humna Khan, who brings advanced experience in aerospace innovation, and Pit Pillatsch as Head of Engineering, whose experience includes positions as former Engineering Director of E-bike Systems and Principal Technical Product Manager at Specialized. Craig Dent, Co-Founder, Design Director and CEO at RiDE Studio, with extensive motorcycle design experience including work for Honda and KISKA, serves as the exclusive design partner.

The initial lineup will offer three distinct vehicles: a short urban model priced at €15,000, a commuter-focused model at €20,000, and a high-performance flagship at €25,000. At the core of Viiala's manufacturing approach is a digital-first strategy, with the company targeting an assembly time of just ten minutes per unit, with facilities planned in both Europe and the United States. The company operates R&D hubs in Switzerland and Dubai and is building its next-generation premium e-bikes engineered with 95% of components sourced from Europe and the USA, with plans to assemble in Europe.

Rather than beginning with a target price and designing within those constraints, Viiala's team started by defining the system architecture and then built the engineering, technology, materials, and design around that vision. The company describes its first platform as a next-generation premium e-bike rather than a tweak to existing city or trekking formats, employing a system-level approach that encompasses chassis, battery packaging, drive integration, and a software layer designed together from the outset. Viiala will arrive through selected distribution across Europe, North America, and the Middle East, always with the highest level of support for those who choose to ride.

Tomi Viiala brings formidable industry credentials to the venture. He joined Stromer in 2014 and over the next 11 years rose to Co-CEO of Stromer and Desiknio, transforming Stromer from a startup into the world's leading premium e-bike brand. Under his leadership, Stromer expanded into 25 countries and won consecutive Red Dot "Best of the Best" and German Design Awards. During his tenure, myStromer AG grew its annual revenue from CHF 52 million in 2021 to CHF 82 million in 2023. In the main S-Pedelec markets of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, Viiala and his team achieved a market share of over 40%. Before entering the corporate world, Viiala competed at an elite level in cross-country skiing as part of the Swiss national team. He is an alumnus of Stanford University, London Business School, and the University of Rochester.

Viiala's first models are expected to arrive around the middle of 2028. The high-performance range of e-bikes and speed-pedelecs will be assembled in Europe and the United States, featuring primarily European and American components. The company's founding rationale remains unchanged: according to Tomi Viiala, "Viiala's business plan is not about following the market — it's about building a market that doesn't exist yet, and leading it from day one."

Viiala AG was co-founded in 2025 by Tomi Viiala and François-Henri Bennahmias and operates under The Honourable Merchants Group holding entity. Viiala AG was established as a next-generation provider of urban vehicles, offering models designed to replace cars for up to 80% of daily use with high-speed, digitally connected and beautifully designed e-bikes that enhance both physical health and environmental sustainability. The company's official website is viiala.com.