CALGARY, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Neuron Mobility, Canada’s fastest-growing shared e-scooter and e-bike operator, announces it has successfully raised US$43.5 million in Series B funding. This follows 19 months of significant growth and brings the company’s total funding to US$77.7 million. The investment round was co-led by global venture firms GSR Ventures and Square Peg. Also joining the round was Singapore’s EDBI, a global Asia-based investor.
Fresh capital will fuel Neuron’s unique international expansion strategy, which is laser-focused on winning highly prized competitive tenders. Increasingly, cities are choosing to limit the number of micromobility operators by awarding long-term contracts to the best operators which prioritize managing e-scooters and e-bikes in a sustainable and responsible way. This suits Neuron’s willingness to partner with cities and is far more predictable, with higher vehicle-use rates, than operating in less-regulated ‘free-for-all’ markets with low, or no, barriers to entry.
Funding will also allow the company to continue to design and manufacture their own safety-first e-scooters, as well as develop and roll out a range of innovative technology at scale. This vertically integrated approach – which differs from most other shared micromobility companies – allows Neuron to innovate quicker and more efficiently. Continuous operational data and feedback enables the company to adapt and update their vehicles quickly to perform better and last longer. This provides the company with a competitive advantage as more cities across the world look to select only the best and most innovative micromobility providers.
Since Neuron’s last funding round 19 months ago, the company has more than tripled its operations, growing from seven cities in September 2020 to 26 cities today. Neuron launched in Canada in May 2021 and has since gained permits to operate in over 30 per cent of all available cities to become the fastest-growing e-scooter operator in the country. To date, the company has secured permits in five Canadian cities, including Ottawa, Calgary, Red Deer, Lethbridge, and Vernon.
Over the last year, more Canadian cities have embraced micromobility, particularly shared e-scooter programs. Across the country, e-scooter programs have been well-received with an average of 46 per cent of all Neuron trips replacing car journeys. This has led to a reduction in congestion and carbon emissions which makes cities more livable and also supports their sustainability goals. E-scooters are extending existing transportation networks, providing a safe, convenient and environmentally-friendly alternative transport option for both commuting and recreational purposes. Studies have also shown that e-scooters have helped boost local economies by driving more people to small businesses and tourism hubs. In 2021, Neuron e-scooters clocked up over 1.2 million kilometers in Canada.
In Australia, Neuron has solidified its position as the country’s leading micromobility operator and the company has won every competitive tender it has participated in, bringing their total number of operational cities in Australia to 14. The company also increased its global footprint with city launches in the United Kingdom and South Korea.
Zachary Wang, Neuron Mobility’s CEO, said: “Cities are shifting to a more regulated way of managing shared micromobility, increasingly selecting the best one or two operators before awarding them long-term contracts. This fully validates our strategy, and the strong foundations we have built in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK give us a great springboard to scale globally. Over the last 19 months Neuron has launched in 22 new cities and the vast majority have been the result of winning competitive tenders – this bodes very well for the future.”
He continued: “We think our vertically integrated approach, designing and building our own e-scooters and the systems that run them, gives us a unique advantage. Proprietary technologies, like our ‘e-scooter brain’ and a range of AI innovations, are a real differentiator and help us integrate into cities in the best possible way.”
Yuechen Zhao, Partner at GSR Ventures, said: “We are happy to support the Neuron team as they deliver on their exciting expansion plans. Neuron takes a unique partnership approach when it comes to working with cities, continually adapting and innovating to meet their needs. We look forward to seeing Neuron further advance their technology leadership by adding to their long list of innovations over the coming months.”
Square Peg’s Partner, Tushar Roy, said: “Innovation and collaboration is part of Neuron’s DNA. The company continues to create new technology to address the mobility and logistics challenges of individual cities, and they work closely with councils to implement them in a way that drives better outcomes for all stakeholders. This approach will stand them in good stead as they deliver on their exciting expansion plans.”
Investing in technology
New investment will fund more proprietary technology and will accelerate the launch of Neuron’s new “e-scooter brain” which will be rolled out on their e-scooters in key cities. The technology includes industry-leading High Accuracy Location Technology (HALT) which can correct GPS variance to locate an e-scooter to within 10 centimetres rather than the industry norm of 5-10 metres. It also includes a range of smart sensors and a Dangerous Riding Detection system, which will combat sidewalk riding, aggressive swerving, skidding, tandem riding and curb jumping. The technology allows the company to correct or penalize unsafe behaviours while also incentivizing safe riding. A major technology trial – the first of its kind – involving 1,500 e-scooters in Australia, Canada and the UK was announced in November 2021.
Neuron designs and manufactures its own e-scooters for safety and sustainable operations. Its long list of industry firsts includes the first battery swappable e-scooter in 2018 for greener operations. In the same year, they launched a full suite of geofencing to control where and how e-scooters are ridden. In early 2020 they launched the first app-controlled helmet lock which integrates a helmet to every e-scooter.
About Neuron Mobility
Neuron, Canada's fastest-growing e-scooter operator, differentiates by being the best partner to cities while also leading the industry when it comes to safety and sustainable operations. Founded in Singapore in 2016, the company has introduced an impressive number of industry world firsts and pioneering innovations including e-scooter battery swapping, geofencing control and integrated helmets. Neuron announced its arrival into Canada in 2021 and has since expanded its operations to five Canadian markets including Ottawa, Calgary, Red Deer, Lethbridge and Vernon. Neuron is also the leading operator in Australia and New Zealand and has operations in the United Kingdom. For more information, visit: https://rideneuron.com
About GSR Ventures
Founded in 2004, GSR Ventures is one of the world’s most successful early-stage venture firms, with over $3 billion under management and offices in Silicon Valley, Singapore, and Beijing. We are focused on early-stage technology companies developing innovative enterprise software, consumer platforms, and healthcare technology. The GSR team brings unmatched expertise and includes founders, industry veterans, enterprise executives, and physicians. For more information, visit www.gsrventures.com.
About Square Peg
Square Peg is a global venture capital fund that invests across Southeast Asia, Australia, Israel and with a focus on Seed to Series B. It backs outstanding founders with the vision and tenacity to build transformative technology companies. Its global portfolio of technology companies has spanned industries and business models, including category leaders like Kredivo, Canva and Fiverr.
About EDBI
Investing since 1991, EDBI is a Singapore-based global investor in select high growth technology sectors ranging from Information & Communication Technology (ICT), Emerging Technology (ET), Healthcare (HC) and promising Singapore SMEs in strategic industries. As a value-creating investor, EDBI assists companies achieve their ambitious goals by leveraging our broad network, resources and expertise. With our growth capital, EDBI supports companies seeking to grow in Asia and globally through Singapore. For more information, visit https://www.edbi.com.
