Bounce, the India-based scooter rental platform that counts mobile semiconductor technology producer Qualcomm as an investor, has secured $150m in series D funding, TechCrunch reported today.
Venture capital firms Accel India and B Capital Group co-led the round, which is yet to close, according to two sources familiar with the matter, who said the cash is being raised at a valuation “well over $500m”. Reports in August suggested the company is targeting a $200m close.
Originally known as Metro Bikes, Bounce is the operator of a service spanning roughly 35 Indian cities, allowing users to book electric or gasoline-powered scooters through a mobile app.
Users pay by the hour and drop the scooters off at one of the company’s dedicated parking spots once they are finished. It works from a base of about 17,000 scooters it designs and equips with its own software, and said last month it has 2.1 million registered users.
Qualcomm’s corporate VC arm, Qualcomm Ventures, provided $6m for a series C round that closed at $72.3m in June this year at a post-money valuation of $200m.
The round was co-led by Accel and Sequoia Capital and included B Capital, Chiratae Ventures, Falcon Edge India, Maverick Ventures and Omidyar Network India.
Bounce initially raised $12.2m in series A funding from Accel India, Omidyar Network and Sequoia Capital in August 2018, all three later returning for an $8m round in January that was led by Chiratae Ventures and also backed by Qualcomm Ventures.
