Bolt Raises $180 Million To Expand Its E-Scooter Business

Ride hailing platform, Bolt, has raised an amount of $180 million to make micro mobility and delivery services easily accessible across Europe.

The investment was led by D1 Capital Partners, and also included Darsana Capital Partners and will help the firm add more functionalities to its products and services that will enhance their safety.

According to Markus Villig, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bolt, “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 the safety and quality of the platform.

We are 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.”

Bolt already has a number of safety platforms for riders and drivers that work like an SOS button, that allows users to contact emergency services in real-time. The “Share Ride Info.” button, allows riders to inform friends and family of their location and expected time of arrival.

Bolt had earlier this month unveiled a 4th generation scooter developed 100% in-house. According to Bolt, the scooter is the safest scooter model on the market owing to its special sensors specially configured to detect rough riding. It has also been optimised to provide extra stability and safer manoeuvring.

The company aims to bring its e-scooters to more than 100 cities across the continent in 2021. These cities will be serviced by its expanded fleet of electric scooters custom-made and designed, built, and deployed by Bolt.

In 2020, the e-scooters have been launched in 45 cities in over 15 countries, including Sweden, Norway, and Portugal. And the firm plans to get 130,000 e-scooters and e-bikes on the streets in 2021.