A transport ‘super-app’ has raised more than £500 million and will expand to 10 UK cities by the end of the year.
In addition to its core ride-hailing product, Bolt offers a car-sharing service, Bolt Drive, and scooter and e-bike sharing.
Bolt, which is valued at around £3.5 billion by the latest raise, is currently available in the M25 area around London, Windsor and Maidenhead, airports including Stansted, Luton, Southend-on-Sea and Gatwick, Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Leicester, Birmingham and Newcastle.
It has more than 500,000 drivers registered in the UK and more than two million passengers signed up.
The funds were raised from new investors including Sequoia, Tekne and Ghisallo, as well as Bolt’s existing investors G Squared, D1 Capital and Naya.
They will be used to boost Bolt’s new 15-minute grocery delivery service, Bolt Market, and to accelerate the expansion of its existing mobility and delivery product.
A spokesperson told BusinessCloud it plans to expand the mobility offering to 10 cities by the year-end, although there are no plans to launch grocery deliveries here.
“Bolt’s mission is to make urban travel affordable and sustainable. We are building a future where people are not forced to buy cars that cause traffic and pollution, but use on-demand transport when they actually need it,” said CEO Markus Villig.
“After seven years of relentless execution, Bolt’s mobility and delivery products offer a better alternative to almost every use case a car serves. I’m thrilled to bring these products to millions of customers around Europe and Africa, taking the emphasis off cars and giving cities back to the people.”
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Andrew Reed, partner at Sequoia, said: “Bolt is redefining urban transportation in much of the world. Markus is a driven founder who has built an operationally-excellent business spanning Europe and Africa and a mission-driven culture that forms the foundation of an enduring company.
“Bolt helps customers, cities and the environment. We’re delighted to partner with them.”
Bolt has experienced hypergrowth in the past year — the company has grown to 75 million customers globally.
The company will launch Bolt Market in 10 European countries over the next few months, including the Baltics and Central Europe, Sweden, Portugal, Croatia and Romania.