Image credit: Voi
Swedish micromobility startup Voi, today, announced that it has raised $45M (approx €38M) in its Series C extension round of funding.
In December 2020, the company had raised $160M (approx €132.8M) in its Series C round of funding. And with the current round, it brings the total Series C funding raised by Voi to $205M.
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The current round was led by The Raine Group, a global merchant bank focused exclusively on technology, media, and telecommunications. In addition, the round also saw participation from existing investor VNV Global alongside some new investors.
Brief about Voi Technology
The company was founded in 2018 by Adam Jafer, Douglas Stark, Fredrik Hjelm, and Keith Richman. It is a micro-mobility startup offering e-scooter sharing in partnership with cities and local communities.
The company believes, “E-scooters can play a central role in changing how people move in cities in the future. And we want to make sure that the transformation happens the right way – through real innovative technology, open and transparent dialogue with cities and Governments, and by adapting our products to local needs.”
Voi has been a carbon-neutral company since January 2020 and has adopted the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a guiding framework and has set a clear agenda for reducing and offsetting emissions.
Recent growth
Over the past eight months, Voi claims to have become the largest micro-mobility operator in Europe. The company says, with ease of lockdown restrictions, e-scooters are now more in demand than ever, with a 70 per cent increase year-on-year as people chose them as a socially-distanced, carbon-free way to travel around urban areas.
This demand has enabled Voi to become the number one for market share – winning more than 40 per cent of the licensed markets in Europe – more than twice its closest competitor. Additionally, the company also claims to be the number one for fleet efficiency with 40 per cent more rides per vehicle than rivals.
Fredrik Hjelm, co-founder and CEO of Voi, says, “We’ve proven that there is demand for sustainable, carbon-free transport across the continent and we’re delighted to be driving this switch from polluting cars in 70 cities. We’re now the biggest e-scooter operator achieving more than 2 million rides a week, and we’re trusted by more cities and regulators than any other operator.
He adds, “With this new investment, we will continue to invest in developing our e-scooter and e-bike fleets, pioneering innovative approaches to parking and safety, and advocate for change to help create more liveable cities across the world.”
Capital utilisation
The proceeds from this round will help Voi invest in building a sustainable company as it aims to revolutionise urban mobility over the coming decade. The funds will be used by the company to continue investing in its e-scooter fleet, R&D in parking, and safety solutions, including the use of computer vision software to prevent pavement riding, and rolling out e-bikes across more locations.
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