SUMMARY
Accel Partners, B Capital will be investing $150 Mn
Bounce aims to expand its dockless bike rental service to 10 cities
India leads the global bike-sharing market in terms of fleet size
Bengaluru-based dockless bike rental startup Bounce is reportedly raising $150 Mn in Series D from B Capital and Accel Partners, doubling the company’s valuation to $500 Mn.
According to a report in Business Standard, the companies are still finalising on the paperwork. With this funding, Bounce will accelerate its expansion across 10 Indian cities by 2020. The funding will also help Bounce continue its collaboration with state and central government to provide innovative solutions for first and last-mile connectivity.
Last Month, two sources told Inc42 that Bounce is in discussion with B Capital and Accel Partners to raise $125 Mn. The sources had also specified that the funding can go upto $150 to $160 Mn, taking the company’s valuation close to $600 Mn. Inc42’s source had also indicated the involvement of investment firm Goldman Sachs.
B Capital and Accel Partners (both India and USA) also invested in Bounce’s Series C funding round, where the company raised $72 Mn. Other investors in the round included Falcon Edge Capital, Chiratae Ventures, Maverick Ventures, Omidyar Network India, Sequoia Capital India and Qualcomm Ventures.
This year, Bounce also raised $4.45 Mn from Flipkart cofounder Sachin Bansal’s BAC Acquisitions. Bounce raised $3 Mn in March and $1.45 Mn in July from BAC Acquisitions, taking the company’s total funding to $94 Mn.
Founded in 2014 by Vivekananda HR, Varun Agni and Anil G, Bounce is a bike rental service that provides premium motorcycles for rent under the brand name Wicked Rides and commuter bikes under the Bounce brand. The company was previously known as Metro Bikes.
In the second quarter of FY20, Bounce recorded over 2 Mn rides and planned to introduce over 50K vehicles to its fleet this year.
India leads the world in the bike and scooter rental market in terms of fleet size. According to a study by German EV manufacturer Unu, the fleet size of bike-rental apps in India is now over 15K vehicles, which is higher than the more developed economies of the US and other Western countries.
Besides Bounce, other companies in the bike and scooter rental segment include Yulu, Vogo, Tazzo Bikes and ONN Bikes, among several others. Earlier this week, Yulu raised $8Mn from Bajaj Auto Limited (BAL). Yulu plans to expand its fleet of micromobility electric two-wheelers and enter new cities in India.
