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Ride share start-up Bolt reported it raised $711 million in a new round of funding led by Sequoia Capital and Fidelity. The investment values Bolt at about $8.4 billion, up from $4.8 billion just five months ago. Bolt CEO (Markus Villig) said that many cities want to switch from private car ownership to ride-hailing and other shared mobility options like electric scooters and car sharing. Bolt started in 2013 and it has become a big competitor to Uber in key markets such as London and Paris. Bolt says it now has about 100 million customers across 45 countries in Europe and Africa. Bolt’s CEO said the company will spend hundreds of millions on building out its grocery delivery business over the next few years. Villig questioned the sustainability of rapid grocery delivery firms, noting the industry operates on slim profit margins. Bolt reports that its operating model is more cost-efficient than Uber’s. Bolt lost 44.9 million euros in 2020, down slightly from losses of 85.5 million euros in 2019. Revenues surged almost 75% to 221.4 million euros in 2021. Bolt’s business revenues dropped as much as 80% in 2020 after the Corona Virus pandemic hit. Bolt’s ride-hailing business more than doubled in 2021.
https://reliablerider.blogspot.com/2022/01/uber-has-big-competitor-in-european.html.
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