Yesterday, we reported on scooter and bikesharing company Lime’s potential $250 million round. And today, the sharing economy is taking another big leap as Uber’s Jump reportedly plans to unleash its bikes on the streets of Europe.
If you don’t remember what Jump is or how Uber came into the bikesharing equation, here’s a little refresher. Jump is a (now global) player in the heated dockless bikesharing competition. With its red, industrial looking, dockless electric bikes, the company aimed to displace traditional stationed bike programs, like San Francisco’s Ford GoBike. For just $2, U.S. customers can spend thirty minutes on motorized bikes, ending their rides by hopping off and locking the bike to any bike rack. The company raised a known total of $11.1 million in venture funding, including a $10 million Series A led by Menlo Ventures in January 2018. It was acquired by Uber for $200 million in April.
The industry has been defined by huge funding rounds as players shoot for instant growth to dominate the market by spending loads of cash on bike production and incredibly cheap rides to attract new users. Among all of the dockless bikesharing industry competitors including Mobike, Ofo, Lime, and Spin, more than $4 billion has been directed toward companies in the space. In fact, last April, Mobike was acquired by Chinese tech giant, Meituan-Dianping for an insane $2.7 billion.
Uber, itself not a stranger to burning cash, plans to open its European bikesharing service starting in Berlin this summer as it expands its latest effort to move into delivery and other verticals beyond ridesharing. In Europe, the company will compete against Mobike, LimeBike, and Singapore’s OBike, which has raised a known total of $45 million of its own. According to Bloomberg, Uber is expanding its electric car ride service to Germany as well.
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