Bolt vs. Uber: European Ride Share Service App Gets $712 Million In New Funding
European ride-share service Bolt announced Monday that it has raised $713 million in a new round of funding. The move is expected to boost the Estonia-based company's efforts to cut into the market share of Uber and others in the burgeoning online grocery delivery industry as a "super app."
The funding comes as the startup has seen a rapid rise in Europe. Bolt CEO Markus Villig founded the company in 2013 at age 19. Previously known as Taxify, Bolt is now valued at about $4.75 billion after this new round of funding amid making inroads in not just food delivery and ride-sharing, but also electric scooter and bike rentals.
“A year ago, we ran into the biggest crisis the company had seen,” Villig told CNBC on Monday. “We dropped over 80% as all the cities went into lockdown and ride-hailing was still the core business."
“What has happened in the last 18 months is that we’re a very different company now,” he said.
“Ride hailing since then has already fully recovered. Delivery grew from something that was a relatively small business into now one of the fastest-growing food delivery companies in Europe."
The large range of options puts it right in competition with Uber, which offers many of the same services. Uber has made big investments in grocery delivery having acquired grocery delivery startup Cornershop in 2019. Uber also signed a partnership with grocery chain Albertsons to serve its 1,200 stores.
Bolt offers services at a cheaper rate, making it more attractive to consumers. It is also attracting drivers by offering them incentives.
Bolt has also found ways to differentiate itself from Uber and other ride-sharing apps. For example, Bolt operates 150,000 electric scooters in over 100 cities.
Villig has had his sights set on cutting into Uber's market share for quite some time.
Uber “becoming more dominant is not going to happen, there isn’t any geography in the world where they will have a monopoly,” Villig told the New York Times in 2019.
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