Bolt (formerly Taxify)

Bolt (formerly Taxify) provides taxi services through the Internet application.

History

2021

Withdrawal from the Russian market

In November 2021, it became known about the departure of Bolt from the Russian market. The only city in the Russian Federation where the taxi ordering service was available was St. Petersburg, but even there the service ceased to work.

In the section of the Bolt website, which lists the cities of accessibility of the service, St. Petersburg is no longer. Bolt Russia Instagram page  deleted.  The company's website also says that the Bolt Technology OÜ platform and the application of the same name for drivers are not available in Russia. At the same time, Bolt did not make official statements about leaving the Russian market.

Estonian taxi service Bolt failed in Russia and left the market

Earlier in 2021, a Bolt representative in Russia , in a conversation with  Kommersant, said that the service, which had not previously gone beyond St. Petersburg on Russian territory, wants to launch it in Moscow, but sees great potential in other regions. The interlocutor noted that expansion into the Russian regions is planned according to the franchise model: service partners in exchange for a percentage of revenue will be able to provide not only taxi services, but also, for example, food delivery and rental of electric scooters.

From its foundation to the beginning of November 2021, Bolt attracted a total of $1.3 billion in investments, and the audience reached more than 75 million users in more than 45 countries.

Bolt was so unable to compete in Russia, despite ambitious plans. According to the Moscow Department of Transport, in the capital, Yandex.Taxi occupies 70.8%, another 20.2% of Citimobil. In Russia, Bolt  worked  only in St. Petersburg: it provided taxi services , food delivery   and rental  of electric scooters.

In St. Petersburg, according to data at the beginning of 2021, about 35% of taxi users know about Bolt, but only 2% used it in a month, follows from the results of the Ipsos survey (conducted using a questionnaire of 400 people).^[1]

Attracting $20 million of investments, estimated at $2 billion

March 12, 2021 it became known about the attraction by Bolt Technology of investments in the amount of $20 million. According to the results of the new round of financing, the Estonian taxi ordering service was estimated at more than $2 billion, said its founder and CEO Markus Villig.

According to him, Bolt received funds from the World Bank, and the total number of investments attracted by the company reached 500 million euros. Thanks to new investments, the service began to expand its business and improve technology, Willig added.

Estonian taxi service attracted $20 million in investments and was valued at $2 billion

He noted that Bolt by March 2021 is the most popular taxi call service in major African markets, including South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. Bolt also works in Tanzania, Ghana and Rwanda and plans to expand further on the continent in the next two years, he said.

Our goal is to become the largest player in all countries where we work, so we take less money from each trip, making it more accessible to customers and more profitable for our drivers, "said Marcus Willig.

In Africa, Bolt plans to use its platform to expand the range of services, such as food and food delivery.

Bolt needed money to develop its core business and services, which the company launched to combat the crisis caused by coronavirus. Earlier, the company applied for a loan to the Estonian government due to financial problems, local publications noted. According to Estonian media Aripaev and Postimees, the launched food delivery service and courier service could not cover the company's revenue reduction. At the same time, Bolt is one of the largest beneficiaries of Estonian government measures to preserve jobs: the state fund will cover most of the company's expenses for paying 500 employees in Estonia, Bloomberg notes.^[2]

2020

Attraction of 150 million euros of investments

In mid-December 2020, Estonian transport startup Bolt announced the attraction of 150 million euros in investments. D1 Capital Partners and Darsana Capital Partners invested in the startup, according to the results of the penultimate round of financing, which was headed by the Naya Capital fund, the company's value increased to $1.9 billion. Bolt plans to spend the raised funds on expansion (Europe, Africa) and on improving security.

Bolt CEO and co-founder Marcus Willig, noted:

We almost doubled the number of our customers in 2020 and launched our services, including ride-hailing, micromobility, food delivery in 50 new cities.

Estonian taxi service Bolt attracted 150 million euros of investment

In addition to the SOS buttons that are already available in Bolt applications, the startup is going to spend the funds raised to improve the safety of drivers and customers. In 2021, Bolt intends to implement support for checking the driver's face, as well as automatic travel monitoring systems using artificial intelligence technology to avoid potentially dangerous situations.

Bolt, which in early December 2020 released a scooter that recognizes unsafe driving, aims to become the leading e-scooter rental company in Europe. In 2021, Bolt plans to launch this service in 100 European cities.

Bolt scooters are "rapidly developing," Willig told Reuters, adding that revenue from the sale of two-wheeled vehicles in some markets may equal the income from ride-hailing of two-wheeled vehicles in some markets just two years after the launch of the service.

The company faces well-funded competition for e-scooters: in November 2020, Berlin-based Tier Mobility raised $250 million from investors, and Swedish VOI Technology raised $160 million in December 2020. As of mid-December 2020, the Bolt application has more than 50 million users in more than 40 countries in Europe and Africa.^[3]

Bolt - among the European companies that attracted the most investments in 5 years

The European technology companies that attracted the most investments from 2015 to 2 February 2020

2019: Name change to Bolt

In May 2019, it became known that the Estonian taxi service Taxify changed its name to Bolt. Together with the name Taxify updated the logo. The company warned that users do not need to re-download the application: it is automatically renamed Bolt.

According to May 2019, Bolt operates in more than 100 cities around the world, the service is also available in Moscow and St. Petersburg. According to the company's own data, more than 25 million people use the service application. In addition to taxi services, under the Bolt brand, the company also offers to rent motorcycles and scooters.

2018

Among the largest IT companies in Europe

Data for 2018

Attracting $175 million of investments

In May 2018, Taxify raised $175 million in investments and raised its valuation to $1 billion.

2013: Foundation of the company

Taxify was founded in 2013 by 19-year-old Estonian entrepreneur Markus Willig.^[4]

Notes