Dockless Scooter-Sharing Startup Bounce Raises $3 Mn Venture Debt From InnoVen Capital

Bengaluru-based dockless two-wheeler rental service Bounce has raised $3 Mn in venture debt from venture debt and speciality lending firm InnoVen Capital. 

The startup plans to use the funding to further boost Bounce’s expansion plans and establish a pan-India presence.

Founded as Wicked Rides in 2014 by Vivekananda HR, Varun Agni and Anil G, the company offers premium motorcycle rentals under the Wicked Rides banner, with commute bikes under the Metro Bikes label, now rebranded as Bounce.

Vivekananda HR, Co-founder, Bounce, said, “We are delighted to have partnered with Innoven. We are particularly impressed with the team’s expertise, understanding of our business, industry knowledge and quick turnaround. We believe that InnoVen’s global presence and an excellent network will help us to expand our footprint and accelerate our growth.’’

Bounce currently offers its services in select areas of Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mysore, Jaipur, Udaipur, Belagavi, Manipal, Jaisalmer, Gokarna, and some other cities. The startup has tied up with the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) and provides bike rentals at metro stations across the city.

The average cost per km is as low as INR 6 for a Bounce user. So far, the company has seen over 250K downloads on its android and iOS platforms.

In August, Bounce raised $12.2 Mn in a Series A funding led by Sequoia Capital India Advisors and Accel Partners. The funding also saw participation from G Raghunandan, founder of TaxiForSure, and a consortium of other investors.

The startup plans to work on improving its delivery models and expand to other major cities across India by 2020.

Ankit Agarwal, Director of InnoVen Capital, said, “Bounce is creating a very interesting and useful category for last mile commute in Indian cities, characterised by a dense population, infrastructural issues and lack of convenient and affordable commuting options. The shared mobility segment has tremendous potential and Bounce’s innovative offering in the two-wheeler segment is well poised to fill a critical void for Indian commuters. InnoVen is very excited to be part of this ride with Bounce.”

In the scooter-sharing segment, Bounce competes with Stoneheadbikes, Rentabike, ONN Bikes, Tazzo Technologies, LetzCycle, and WheelStreet, among others.

Recently, Bengaluru-based scooter rental startup Vogo Automotive raised an undisclosed amount in a Series A funding round led by cab aggregator Ola and Hero MotoCorp chairman Pawan Munjal.

Bengaluru-headquartered online bike rental startup ONN Bikes has introduced hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly bike rentals.

According to Statista, India’s two-wheeler vehicles (scooters, motorcycles, and mopeds) saw 20 Mn sales in 2017-18, making it the most popular vehicle category sold in India.

According to a report by RedSeer Consulting, the Indian online mobility market, which includes cab aggregator and auto-hailing verticals, has seen substantial growth last year. The report said these two categories contributed over 15% of the industry’s overall gross book value (GBV) in 2017.

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