Image credit: Tier Mobility
With an aim to expand its footprint in Central and Eastern Europe, Berlin-based TIER, a micro-mobility company, has announced the acquisition of Makery – a Hungary-based software development firm.
With this acquisition, TIER looks to create a tech hub in Budapest. The city will be TIER’s largest tech-focused office outside of its headquarters in Berlin and London. Besides, Budapest will also be one of many new cities in Central and Eastern Europe where TIER will launch its service in 2021, as reported in a statement.
How will Makery help the micro-mobility company?
Makery is a provider of digital services with a suite that includes product strategy, product design, engineering, testing and quality, project management, training and support, and staff augmentation.
And, according to TIER, it has established a relationship with Makery, as the Hungarian company successfully supported TIER’s product and tech team during the micro-mobility provider’s growth journey.
With more than 900 employees, TIER says it will absorb all of Makery’s 27 team members who are working in the field of product strategy, design, engineering, and project management.
The team in Budapest will be responsible for building the company’s consumer-facing products, led by the Makery founding team Andras Kindler, Gyula Voros, and Balazs Zsedely, who will all join TIER’s leadership team.
Matthias Laug, CTO and co-founder of TIER, says, “Our plan is to expand the number of employees in the upcoming months with more local talent as well as team members who work remote from all over the world.”
Expansion in Central and Eastern Europe
As part of its European expansion, TIER also announced that it will launch its service in Hungary this Summer. Gyula Voros, co-founder of Makery and new VP Engineering at TIER, said, “We always strived to build a hub in Budapest, where talented people can work on highly impactful problems that actually make a difference. We are excited to continue on this journey together with TIER.”
The company expects to be the only provider in Hungary to use e-scooters with swappable batteries, which it believes will cement its leadership as the most sustainable micro-mobility provider.
TIER’s battery-swapping tech and fully owned operations, which utilises electric cargo bikes and electric vans, eliminates the need to transport the vehicles to warehouses for charging. This reduces the operational costs as well as emissions and has enabled TIER to remain fully climate-neutral since January 2020.
A local team of permanent employees will be responsible for conducting regular roadside health checks and replacing depleted batteries on-site.
About TIER Mobility
TIER Mobility is on a mission to change mobility for good. It offers a range of shared, light electric vehicles, such as e-scooters, e-bikes, and e-mopeds, which are powered by a proprietary Energy Network, and thus, helps cities reduce their dependence on cars.
Founded in 2018 by Lawrence Leuschner, Matthias Laug, and Julian Blessin, TIER currently operates in more than 95 cities across 11 countries in Europe and the Middle East. TIER’s investors include SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Mubadala Capital, Northzone, Goodwater Capital, and White Star Capital.
Back in November last year, the startup raised a whopping $250M (approx €210.7M) in its Series C round of funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Existing investors also participated in this round, including Mubadala Capital, Northzone, Goodwater Capital, White Star Capital, Novator, and RTP Global.
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