Metro Bikes raises Series A investment of USD 12.2 million

Bike rental start-up Metro Bikes today said it has raised Series A investment of USD 12.2 million led by Sequoia India and Accel Partners.

The company has also announced the change in its brandname to "Bounce".

The funds would be used to further scale the Bounce network across Bengaluru, invest in a robust delivery model through innovations in technology and develop a pan-India presence by expanding to all major cities by2020, the company said in a release.

Raghunandan G, founder of TaxiForSure and a consortiumof other investors, have also participated in this round, itsaid.

Founded by Vivekananda HR, Varun Agni and Anil G, the start-up offers a dockless scooter sharing service allowing users to pick up the scooter from anywhere, ride to their destination and drop it off at any location.

"There is tremendous potential for innovation in the shared mobility segment given the major gap in last mile connectivity in intra-city travel. We are looking at a market opportunity of USD 4.5 bn," Bounce Co-Founder Vivekananda HR said.

"We've also gone beyond scooters, offering other formsof transport including bicycles, electric pedelecs and kickscooters across the city. And Bounce seemed like an appropriate name for our new avatar," he added.

Stating that the average cost per km is as low as Rs 6for a Bounce user, the company said, with most intra-city commute being sub 5 km, the service is, therefore, already seeing massive adoption.

So far, the company has seen over 200k downloads on its android and iOS platforms, it added.

Shailesh Lakhani, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital India Advisors and Anand Daniel, partner, Accel will join the board, the company said.

Its earlier investors include Captain Prashant Priya, a serial entrepreneur and LG Chandrasekar, co-founder, SuturesIndia.