E-Scooter Company Lime Looks To Expand After Raising $523 Million
Jane Lu
· 3 min read
When you think of
electric vehicles
, you might immediately think of electric cars and SUVs like the kinds offered by Tesla. Electric scooters are another form of electric transportation that has gained a lot of traction, though. Lime, one of the most well-known names in electric scooters, is making moves to expand.According to
Autoblog
, Lime recently raised $523 million in funding. The funding comes from some recognizable companies, and it will go toward a variety of projects as the use of electric scooters continues to grow.
Where does the new Lime funding come from?
This newest round of funding for the electric scooter company marks an important point for the company. Lime is planning on going public in 2022, and it is common for companies to do one final round of funding before this. Among the investors for Lime are Fidelity, rideshare giant Uber, and Abu Dhabi Growth Fund.
Fidelity and Uber have previously invested large amounts into Lime. For Uber, the pairing with Lime is particularly fitting as rideshare services and electric scooters are growing forms of transportation. In 2020, Uber invested in Lime to help the company continue to grow while scooter demand was down because of the pandemic.
As Lime receives this boost in investment funds, they are continuing to compete with
Bird
. These are the two most prominent electric scooter companies today.Let Jerry find your price in only 45 seconds
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The funding will help expand and improve Lime services
Lime already operates in many cities, and they are going to use some of their new investment funds to improve the services they provide. While scooters provide easy transportation for many, they can also be a safety issue for pedestrians on sidewalks and disrupt traffic. Because of this, it’s important for Lime to improve its image.
To do this, they may use funds from this round of investments to develop better safety technology. One particular technology mentioned is a sidewalk detection system. This would help keep vehicles off of sidewalks, alleviating one of the more common complaints with electric scooters.
Outside of making scooters more appealing to cities in which they operate, Lime is also working to become more environmentally friendly. Some of the funds are going toward their goal of reducing carbon emissions. They hope to reach net-zero emissions by the end of the decade.
The future of Lime
MORE: A British Startup Will Provide EV Charging on the Go
Lime is planning on going public next year, but the exact timeline is not yet known. This major step for the electric scooter company comes after a period of uncertainty because of the pandemic. However, Lime has stated that their revenue is back on the rise.
With the United States opening back up for travel, there have been more potential Lime customers. Traveling by electric scooter is affordable and easy, which makes it appealing for people who need to go short distances.
Outside of their growth in the U.S., Lime is also aiming to expand throughout North America, Europe, and the Middle East. One of their largest investors comes from Abu Dhabi, so the Middle East expansion makes sense.
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