Neuron Mobility Co-founders Zachary Wang (L) and Harry Yu
Neuron Mobility, a Singapore-headquartered electric scooter rental operator, has added US$12 million into Series A, bringing its total funding raised in this round to US$30.5 million.
The new tranche of investment was co-led by existing investors Australian VC firm Square Peg Capital and GSR Ventures.
The fresh capital will be used by Neuron to accelerate its international expansion, particularly in Australia and New Zealand post COVID-19. It has partnered with councils across these to nations to operate in nine locations.
The company also plans to expand into at least five new cities across the region within the next 12 months and aims to create 400 jobs.
Also Read: Neuron Mobility expands to Australia, to operate 600 e-scooters in Brisbane
In addition, it has launched in Slough in the UK, which will be operational before the end of the year.
Neuron Mobility CEO Zachary Wang said: “Cities across the world are rethinking their transport systems and increasingly people are looking for a safe, inexpensive and socially-distanced way to travel post COVID-19. This presents a great opportunity for micromobility providers. Our experience of operating in Australia and New Zealand, combined with fresh funding, will help us accelerate our growth across the region and beyond.”
Founded in Singapore in 2016 Wang and Harry Yu, Neuron operates e-scooter sharing services across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, New Zealand and Australia.
It has also introduced a range of other innovations, including a topple detection feature that can detect if an e-scooter has been left on its side which then alerts an operations team to reposition it safely; an emergency button which can tell if someone has had a fall and helps the rider call the emergency services; and, a “follow my ride” feature that allows the rider’s friends and family to track an e-scooter trip in real time for added safety and peace of mind.
Since the last funding round in December 2019, Neuron has launched in a further eight cities in Australia and New Zealand and has announced its entry into the UK market.
Currently operating a fleet of 4,000 e-scooters, the company’s 400,000 Australian and New Zealand riders have completed close to two million trips and four million kilometers of city travel.
In December 2018, Neuron had secured a US$3.8 million seed round from a cluster of early-stage VCs, including SeedPlus, 500 Startups, SEEDS Capital, ACE Capital.
E-scooters gaining momentum in post-pandemic cities
Against the backdrop of COVID-19, cities and consumers across the world are realising the potential of e-scooters as a safe, convenient and socially-distanced transport option, says Neuron.
With international and interstate travel restrictions still in place, people are traveling locally more than ever before and in many cities e-scooters are providing a boost for the local economy.
During the COVID-19 lockdown in Australia, Neuron claims to have reported that one in five users had never ridden an e-scooter before, and since then many have actively chosen to change their travel habits.
Increasingly concerned with social distancing, Australian and New Zealand riders have increased their average e-scooter trip distance by 23 per cent to 2.6km, while the average duration has risen by 10 per cent to more than 14 minutes.
Also Read: Scooterson launches light-weight foldable smart e-scooter; to be available in Singapore from Oct
Square Peg, which manages over US$1 billion of committed capital, has invested in the likes of Canva, PropertyGuru, Stripe and Fiverr.
GSR Ventures is a global VC firm founded in 2004 with US$3 billion under management. It invests in early-stage technology companies in enterprise software, consumer platforms, and digital health. GSR Ventures was the first institutional investor in the ride-sharing giant Didi.
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Image Credit: Neuron Mobility
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