E-scooter Start-up Tier is Raising $250 Million Round Conducted by Softbank Vision Fund 2
Berlin-based micro-mobility start-up “Tier” collects 250 million dollars round led by Softbank bank Vision fund 2, one of the biggest competitors to U.S giant Birds Rides Inc. and Lime. Softbank Vision Fund 2 is ruling the round, which shows that the Vision Fund Team is still concentrated on high-potential, high-risk bets.
On Tuesday, German E-scooter rental star-up Tier mobility said that it will use the money to introduce to more cities in Europe and grow its network of charging stations and it is also in the process of securing a debt facility to finance an expansion of its automobile fleet.
However, the E-scooter businesses are hoping that the demand for emissions-free city transport and easing regulations in Europe are holding-up the emerging micro-mobility industry after the coronavirus (C0VID-19) epidemic.
Meanwhile, Tier says it makes money after having built a fleet of approximately 60, 000 e-scooters in 80 European cities, and the existing investors such as Northzone, RTP Global, White Star Capital, and one of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign vehicles, were also part of the financing round, according to the Financial Times.
Additionally, Tier’s support comes amidst difficult times for Bird and Lime, which have experienced difficulties this year as their business models have been put to the test by the coronavirus pandemic that has kept customers trapped at home and both had to significantly reduce their fleets, cut hundreds of jobs and apply for emergency funds, which hurt the venture capitalists who invested more than 1 billion dollars in companies.
According to Business Insider, Tier profitability was based on EBITDA for the third quarter of 2020 but the firm reported some losses during the first half of the year.
Lastly, predicting how the market will evolve is also difficult because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic but Tier now has enough cash to stick around for a while.
