Bolt, an Estonia-headquartered on-demand ride and logistics provider that counts ride hailing service Didi Chuxing and carmaker Daimler as investors, has raised €150m ($182m) in funding, TechCrunch reported today.
D1 Capital Partners led the round, which also featured fellow hedge fund manager Darsana Capital Partners, and TechCrunch estimates it values Bolt at roughly $4.3bn based on figures given by co-founder and chief executive Markus Villig.
Founded in 2013 as Taxify, Bolt operates an on-demand service that combines ride hailing and last-mile delivery through the same app, making use of cars, electric scooters and bicycles. It has a presence in some 200 cities across 40 countries, and the capital will support regional expansion.
The latest round comes seven months after the company received $110m in funding from asset management firm Naya Capital Management at a reported valuation of nearly $1.9bn, and the increase in valuation was achieved in spite of widespread urban lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Villig told TechCrunch: “This round was the first time we raised with most of the previous round still in the bank, despite the pressures of covid.
“This shows the frugality of the company. Due to lockdowns, we were not as aggressive as we would have liked to be, so financially we are now in a very good position for 2021.”
Bolt has now raised more than $535m altogether, including $1.7m from advertising technology provider Adcash, Rubylight and TMT Investments in 2014. Didi Chuxing subsequently invested an undisclosed amount three years later.
Daimler put up more than $100m for Bolt’s next round, in mid-2018, when it secured $175m from a consortium also including Didi Chuxing, Korelya Capital and Taavet Hinrikus at a reported valuation topping $1bn.
The company added $67m in a July 2019 series C round featuring Naya Capital, Activant Capital, Tribe Capital, Nordic Ninjas, Creandum, Invenfin, Superangel and G Squared, and $55.7m of venture debt from European Fund for Strategic Investments six months later.
Image courtesy of Bolt Technology OÜ.
