Mobility firm Bolt raises €150m in biggest ever funding round
Mobility firm Bolt this morning announced that it had raised €150m (£135m) from investors as the battle to take control of the urban transport market hots up.
The firm, which is London’s second biggest ride-hailing app, said that the funding round was its biggest yet.
Bolt follows fellow mobility firms Tier and Voi in raising hefty new equity from the market.
It comes at the end of a year in which the Estonian company has doubled its number of customers and rolled out new services in over 50 cities.
Along with its ride-hailing business, Bolt also launched its fourth-generation e-scooter earlier this year.
The pandemic has seen a marked shift to alternative forms of transport as commuters try to avoid using public transport over health concerns.
As a result, the UK government has brought forward trials of rental e-scooters, with London-wide tests set to take place in the spring.
Founder and chief executive Markus Villig said that Bolt, which was 2m customers in London for its ride-hailing function, would continue to launch new features in 2021.
“Millions of customers already love Bolt for our affordable prices and fast service. In 2021, we are doubling down to be the industry leader in safety and quality of the platform”, he said.
“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.”
It has announced plans to expand its e-scooter operations to 100 cities next year, with the aim of becoming the biggest micro-mobility firm in Europe.
The investment was led by D1 Capital Partners with the participation of Darsana Capital Partners.