Europe’s leading on-demand mobility platform Bolt has secured £135 million in its biggest funding round yet. This announcement has come just weeks after scooter-rental startup Voi Technology AB said it’s secured £142 million of new funding, and German rival Tier Mobility raised £188.5 million from investors including SoftBank Group Corp.
The investment was led by D1 Capital Partners, with the participation of Darsana Capital Partners. Tallinn-based Bolt confirmed in the press release that the company will use the funds further to enhance the safety and quality of its products as it continues to grow its ride-hailing, micromobility and food delivery services in Europe and Africa.
We’re excited to announce that we’ve just finalised our largest round of funding, securing a €150m investment.
This funding will help us to further enhance the safety and quality of our products. ⚡️
Read more → https://t.co/koXftXOX1X pic.twitter.com/MxWSDxEHyR— Bolt (@boltapp) December 16, 2020
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Markus Villig, CEO and co-founder, Bolt said: “Despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bolt has seen immense growth in the past year. We have almost doubled our number of customers and launched our services from ride-hailing to micromobility and food delivery in 50 new cities.
He continued, “In 2021, we are doubling down to be the industry leader in safety and quality of the platform. We’re planning to launch even more innovative solutions, like driver face verification and automatic trip monitoring, using machine learning to prevent potential incidents and ensure the highest quality service for our customers.”
Dan Sundheim, Founder of D1 Capital added, “We are excited to partner with Bolt as they continue to build a market-leading mobility platform across Europe and Africa. The team has executed incredibly well during a challenging year and continues to provide millions of users with safety, flexibility and great value. We are optimistic about the growth opportunity ahead for Bolt after the COVID-19 pandemic and look forward to supporting the team as they invest in innovation over the coming years.”
Growing on-demand network
Founded by Markus Villig, Martin Villig, and Oliver Leisalu, the Uber rival has developed an on-demand network of ride-hailing, micromobility, and food delivery services in 200 cities and 40 countries. Bolt Food, launched in 2019, is currently available in 16 countries and 33 cities. With already 50 million users globally, Bolt is planning to become the biggest micro mobility provider in Europe, launching scooters in more than 100 cities next season.
A few days back, the Estonian company also unveiled its fourth-generation scooter – Bolt 4 – which will be first launched in Bergen, Norway in the beginning of 2021. To date, the European company has raised £440 million of funding.
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