Netherlands-based electric scooter rental service Dott secured $85m of debt and equity financing yesterday in a series B round featuring Prosus, the internet group formed by e-commerce and media company Naspers.
Investment firms Sofina and Estari co-led the round, which included EQT Ventures, Aberdeen Standard Investments, Expon Capital, Felix Capital, FJ Labs, McRock Capital, Invest-NL, Quadia (in partnership with private bank Degroof Petercam) and various individuals, while Prosus took part through Prosus Ventures fund.
Dott has developed an online platform where users in cities across Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Poland can book and pay for electric scooters. The cash will go to the launch of new micromobility services such as e-bike rentals, in addition to its expansion into new countries such as Spain and the UK.
Prosus Ventures (then known as Naspers Ventures) and EQT Ventures co-led a $33.9m series A round for Dott in mid-2019 that alo featured media group Axel Springer’s investment arm, Axel Springer Digital Ventures, as well as Felix Capital, FJ Labs, U-Start Club and unnamed angel investors.
The company had pulled in $22.7m through a 2018 round co-led by Naspers and EQT Ventures with investments from Axel Springer Digital Ventures, EQT Ventures, FJ Labs, U-Start Club, DN Capital, Felix Capital and various individuals.
Prosus Ventures CEO Martin Tschopp said: “Through incorporating top-notch safety and usability features on their e-scooters and e-bikes, offering first-to-market benefits to riders, and working collaboratively with local governments to ensure their solutions work seamlessly within the communities where they operate, Dott has become a true leader in the micromobility sector in Europe.”