The newest trend in urban mobility, e-scooters are all the rage this fall. The Berlin-based startup Wind Mobility, which specialises in e-scooter and e-bike rentals, has just received €19.2 million in a seed round from investors including HV Holtzbrinck Ventures and the Chinese VC Source Code Capital. This comes on the heels of the Swedish e-scooter startup VOI’s fundraising round of €43 million earlier this week. Tier Mobility, another e-scooter startup from Germany, also raised €25 million in October.
E-scooters provide a new, fun, convenient, and sustainable transportation alternative. As with other other e-scooter startups, users can unlock, park, and pay for Wind’s dockless scooters through its app, with prices starting from €1 per use. Though safety has emerged as an issue with scooters potentially clashing with pedestrians, Wind says it will work closely with public officials to keep its service safe, and reminds its users to avoid obstructing public sidewalks when parking.
Unlike VOI, Wind uses replaceable batteries in its scooters. This way the scooters don’t need to be collected at night and charged externally, reducing maintenance costs. The startup also plans to use IoT technology to update its scooters remotely.
Wind is already offering its service in Madrid, Paris, Bordeaux, and Lisbon, and its e-bike service, BYKE, is available in Germany. With the new funding round, Wind plans to expand into more cities internationally, especially in the US.
Fabian Gruner, Investment Manager at HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, said: “Wind convinced us with its excellent product development and operational strength: in just a few days they will be able to build a new mobility infrastructure in cities. With the strong support of high-caliber international investors, the company can now exploit these strengths globally.”
Eric Wang, CEO of Wind, said: “The investment allows us to push forward our global expansion plans; with the support from our investors, we can leverage our deep experience in mobility solutions towards becoming a leading actor in the urban mobility segment.”
By the way: If you’re interested to join a fast-growing startup like Wind Mobility, make sure to check out the EU-Startups Job Board.
