Electric scooters just got a big new infusion of cash. And it’s being led by some of the largest banks in the world.
What’s happening:
- Mobility company Bolt has announced they have secured €220M in new credit financing
- The financing was led by Barclays, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan
Why it matters:
- Bolt is one of the largest ride sharing and on demand electric scooter rental companies in the world and has publicly stated their plans to IPO in the near future
- Ride sharing and on demand electric scooter rentals are becoming more relevant than ever as major urban cities look for ways to decarbonize amidst the energy transition and find sustainable ways to lower carbon emissions caused by transportation
By the numbers:
- Bolt has more than 150M active customers across 45 different countries
Going deeper:
- Bolt previously launched a pilot project for autonomous robots for grocery delivery, aiming to make a move into the rapidly growing opportunity to leverage robotics for delivery which Serve Robotics (NASDAQ: SERV) and Uber (NASDAQ: UBER) have both been doubling down on
The fine print:
- Electric scooter companies have been faced with significant criticism after the rise and fall of popular scooter startup Bird, which reached unicorn valuations before ultimately ending in bankruptcy
