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VOI Technology, Europe’s leading e-scooter sharing startup, raises $50m to partner with cities across Europe

BY BALDERTON

Smart mobility startup VOI Technology today announces that it has raised a $50m Series A round led by Balderton to transform the way people move about in Europe’s congested cities.

We're very excited to be leading this round in VOI Technology, investing alongside LocalGlobe, Raine Ventures and earlier investor Vostok New Ventures. A host of high profile angel investors including Cristina Stenbeck, Jeff Wilkes (Amazon), Justin Mateen (co-founder of Tinder), Nicolas Brusson (CEO and co-founder of BlaBlaCar), Sebastian Knutsson (co-founder of King), Spencer Rascoff (CEO of Zillow) and Keith Richman also participated in the round.

Read Lars' piece on the background behind the investment.

VOI was launched in Stockhom in August of this year, and is the first and only European e-scooter sharing company to go live in multiple countries.

In a matter of 12 weeks, the company has gained over 120,000 users, who have taken 200,000 rides, travelling 350,000km – the equivalent to over eight times around the globe - making VOI Europe’s leading e-scooter sharing company.

With a shared vision of easing Europe’s traffic-clogged city centres and reducing pollution, the team set out to offer a clean, efficient, cost-effective and zero emission first-and-last-mile alternative to cars and taxis. VOI’s electric scooters have since been rolled out to Madrid, Zaragoza and Malaga in Spain.

The team plan to use the investment to expand rapidly - but sustainably -- into new markets such as Benelux, France, Germany, Italy, Norway and Portugal in the coming months.

Read stories about the fundraise:

In a matter of 12 weeks, the company has gained over 120,000 users, who have taken 200,000 rides, travelling 350,000km – making VOI Europe’s leading e-scooter sharing company

The company was founded by Fredrik Hjelm, Douglas Stark, Adam Jafer and Filip Lindvall

VOI CEO and co-founder Fredrik Hjelm

Central to VOI’s distinctive approach is the way the company works collaboratively with city authorities and complies with local regulations which vary across the continent. “As a Scandinavian and European company, our approach is one based on dialogue and transparency,” explains CEO Fredrik Hjelm, who met co-founder Douglas Stark when they served together as intelligence officers in Sweden’s armed forces. (Adam Jafer and Filip Lindvall met on their first day at Stockholm’s Royal Institute of Technology.)

As a Scandinavian and European company, our approach is one based on dialogue and transparency.

VOI CEO Fredrik Hjelm

Balderton general partner Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen says: “VOI’s founders are exceptional, already proving that they can execute quicker, more effectively, and with better numbers than their rivals. But what’s impressed us even more is Fredrik and Douglas’s collaborative approach to working with governments at European, national and local level. We believe that’s absolutely essential to success, and VOI has hired the best people in Europe to accomplish it.”

VOI’s founders are exceptional, already proving that they can execute quicker, more effectively, and with better numbers than their rivals.

Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen, Balderton

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