US-based urban mobility service Lime collected $170m in funding on Thursday led by ride sharing company Uber, with participation from conglomerate Alphabet’s early-stage investment unit GV.
Bain Capital Ventures also took part in the round, as did a range of unnamed new and existing backers. Lime’s valuation has dropped from $2.4bn to $510m, according to The Information.
The transaction involved Uber offloading its micromobility service, Jump, to Lime. Going forward, customers will be able to unlock bikes using both companies’ mobile apps.
Founded in 2017, Lime originally operated a bicycle-based offering but eventually shifted its focus on electric scooters that users can rent.
In addition to the financing, Lime promoted global head of operations and strategy Wayne Ting to chief executive, replacing Brad Bao who will remain chairman of the board.
Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber, said: “Lime has the operational expertise and undivided focus needed to build a scaled, sustainable micromobility business.
“We are glad that our customers will continue to have access to bikes and scooters in both our apps because we believe micromobility is a critical part of the urban landscape, now more than ever.”
GV co-led a $310m series D round in February 2019 together with Andreessen Horowitz, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), Bain Capital Ventures and Fidelity Investments, a subsidiary of financial services and investment group Fidelity.
The series D round included Alphabet itself, as well as GIC, Coatue Management, FJ Labs, DCM Ventures, Fifth Wall, GGV Capital, GSV Capital, Bling Capital, GR Capital and St Augustine Partners. It brought Lime’s total funding by that point to $777m.
GV led a $335m series C round in mid-2018 that featured Uber, Fidelity, IVP, Andreessen Horowitz, GIC, Coatue Management, Atomico and Fifth Wall Ventures.
Stanford-StartX Fund, the investment vehicle linked to Stanford University, participated in a $120m funding round in early 2018 together with NGP Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, GGV, Coatue Management, DCM Ventures and AME Cloud Ventures.
The round also featured Franklin Templeton Investments, Section 32, Durant Company, Decent Capital and Rainbow Technology.
Lime received $12m in a series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz in 2017 that included DCM Ventures, Seven Seas, IDG Capital, Immersion Ventures, Danhua Capital, Jason Zeng and Free Wu.
