Bolt Raises €600 Million To Build The European ‘Super App’

Bolt, the ride-hailing and micro-mobility firm, has raised €600 million in a round that pushes its valuation to over €4 billion.

Sequoia Capital has backed the company as part of the round alongside other new investors Tekne and Ghisallo. Existing backers also participated including G Squared, D1 Capital and Naya.

Bolt is fashioning itself as a ‘super app’ for transport and deliveries, bringing a model popular in Asia to Europe.

Bolt’s services run the gamut from ride-hailing and scooter and bike rentals to food delivery. Most recently it entered the rapidly growing 15-minute grocery delivery business with Bolt Market, which will be launching in 10 countries initially, drawing from its existing food delivery infrastructure.

This significant capital injection will be used to accelerate the expansion of all of these services in Europe as well as a number of African markets where Bolt has a presence.

“Bolt’s mission is to make urban travel affordable and sustainable,” chief executive Markus Villig said. “We are building a future where people are not forced to buy cars that cause traffic and pollution, but use on-demand transport when they actually need it.”

“After seven years of relentless execution, Bolt’s mobility and delivery products offer a better alternative to almost every use case a car serves. I’m thrilled to bring these products to millions of customers around Europe and Africa, taking the emphasis off cars and giving cities back to the people.” Markus added.

Femi Akin-Laguda, Country Manager, Bolt Nigeria also said: “We remain committed to simplifying mobility and providing the best value for our customers in more than 25 cities in Nigeria. Bolt will continue building solutions that alleviate everyday mobility challenges with our safe and affordable services while we also remain committed to providing market-leading earnings for our drivers. With this investment, we will keep introducing effective solutions, features and products that are important to all our customers while having a positive socio-economic impact on the economy.”

According to the company, it now had 75 million customers across the markets it is active is.

Competition in all the verticals that Bolt operates in is fierce. In particular, the rapid grocery delivery space has seen several players emerge in the last year, jousting for market share in major European cities. Meanwhile food delivery by the likes of Deliveroo remains highly competitive and Bolt continues to lock horns with Uber when it comes to ride-hailing.

Andrew Reed, partner at Sequoia, said: “Bolt is redefining urban transportation in much of the world. Markus is a driven founder who has built an operationally excellent business spanning Europe and Africa and a mission-driven culture that forms the foundation of an enduring company. Bolt helps customers, cities, and the environment. We’re delighted to partner with them.”