Metro Bikes raises $12.2 million from Sequoia, Accel, TaxiForSure investor

Metro Bikes, an urban mobility solution start-up, has raised $12.2 million from investors led by Sequoia Capital India Advisors and Accel Partners. G Raghunandan, founder of TaxiForSure and a consortium of other investors have also participated in the Series A fund raising.

The company has also changed its brand name to Bounce. The funds will be used to further scale the Bounce network across Bengaluru, invest in a delivery model through innovations in technology and develop a pan-India presence by expanding to all major cities across India by 2020.

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. It’s an easy, convenient and affordable mobility solution aimed at tackling the first and last mile connectivity challenges faced by commuters.

H R Vivekananda, co-founder, Bounce, said that there is tremendous potential for innovation in the shared mobility segment given the major gap in last mile connectivity in intra-city travel. Market opportunity is around $4.5 billion.

The company has also gone beyond scooters, offering other forms of transport, including bicycles, electric pedelecs and kick scooters across the city.

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“There has been a lot of attention on four-wheel shared mobility across the world,” added Shailesh Lakhani, managing director, Sequoia Capital India Advisors.

“While it makes sense in other markets, a service like Bounce has immense potential in India, where limitations of space and cost has always made two-wheelers more popular. The network has the potential to be a category creator - being the first to offer an extremely cost-effective, personalised, motorised transport that fills a critical need gap in the Indian market — and Sequoia India is looking forward to being a part of this journey,” said Lakhani.

Anand Daniel of Accel Partners said that Bounce’s product offering is particularly interesting as it uniquely fits multiple investment themes that we are excited about: tech-enabled solutions for mass India and shared-economy solutions across various categories (like lodging, transportation, and furniture).

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