- Mobility company Bolt announced it has raised $2.5 million in a round of funding and launched in America. This funding round was led by Maniv Mobility.
Bolt is a mobility company that offers logistics players Light Electric Vehicles as a Service. The company announced it has launched in America and raised $2.5 million in a seed round of funding. Bolt said that couriers that use Light Electric Vehicles have up to 30% more earning potential, enabling them to make more deliveries per shift. And with Bolt’s servicing network, it helps keep them on the road for longer.
The $2.5 million seed round of funding was led by global mobility venture capital firm Maniv Mobility along with European e-mobility firm Contrarian Ventures, former executives of Uber and Deliveroo, and other angel investors.
Bolt was co-founded in 2017 by Mina Nada (former executive at Deliveroo and Mobike) and Michael Johnson (former Bain & Co consultant). Based in Sydney, Australia, Bolt has rolled out in San Francisco and London with key food delivery partners in each location.
Next year, Bolt is aiming to increase its fleet to ten times its current size. And with a team of 20, it plans to expand across more cities in the US, UK and Australia.
“Being in the food delivery industry since its inception, we saw that Light Electric Vehicles were the real future of ‘last mile’ logistics, yet no-one was offering the right vehicle, financing or maintenance solution,” said Nada. “We are proud to be serving the real needs of delivery couriers while building the logistics infrastructure of the future.”
Postmates has been piloting a rental program in San Francisco with Bolt since June.
“Bolt has the potential to provide yet another mobility solution for our Postmates to navigate dense urban areas and quickly deliver goods from pick up to drop off, helping to boost efficiency, power additional earnings for the fleet, and create more sales for local businesses,” added Postmates’ Director of Community Communications and Engagement Claire Sands.
Technavio is forecasting that the global on-demand food delivery market will grow by 32% annually through to 2021 to become a $57.59 billion industry. And the rapidly growing delivery sector requires efficient mobility services like Bolt — which support a low carbon footprint and reduces urban pollution and congestion on the roads.
The Bolt e-bikes rent for $39 per week with a week-to-week contract. It also has a no-risk trial as the first week is free. And it also has full maintenance and customer support across its rental and outright purchase option.
