Bolt, the Estonian ride-hailing company, announced that it has closed a €600 million funding round, increasing its valuation to more than €4 billion. This new funding round was led from a range of investors including Sequoia, Tekne, and Ghisallo, G Squared, D1 Capital, and Naya.
According to the company, the funds will be used to boost its new grocery delivery service, Bolt Market, and accelerate its expansion of existing mobility and delivery products.
Bolt (formerly known as Taxify), founded by Markus Villig in 2013, states that it currently has 75 million customers globally and is present in over 150 cities in 47 countries including 7 African countries. It states that with the current funding, it will be launching in 10 new European countries over the next few months, including the Baltics and Central Europe, Sweden, Portugal, Croatia, and Romania.
According to Markus Villig, CEO at Bolt; “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 need it.”
“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.”
Apart from its core ride-hailing product, Bolt now offers a car-sharing service, Bolt Drive, and scooter and e-bike sharing. Its delivery services include Bolt Food, which enables customers to order meals from restaurants, and the most recent addition to Bolt’s ecosystem is a grocery delivery service, Bolt Market.
