[Funding alert] Bounce raises $3M debt funding led by InnoVen Capital

Bengaluru-based scooter-sharing platform Bounce has raised $3 million debt funding led by InnoVen Capital. Last month, it had raised $4 million debt funding led by Sachin Bansal. InnoVen has invested a total of $6 million in Bounce. 

The platform currently has over 5,000 keyless bikes in Bengaluru and this funding will go towards the company's plans to expand and increase its density and penetration in the city.

On the funding, Ankit Agarwal, Director, InnoVen Capital said:

We are very thrilled to see rapid progress made by Bounce in a such a short period post our first investment and are happy to further support the company in its mission to disrupt the micro mobility segment in India.

In January, Bounce had raised Rs 50 crore led by Sequoia India, Chiratae Ventures, Accel India, and ON Mauritius.

Also read: [Funding alert] After investing in Vogo, Sachin Bansal lends bike-rental platform Bounce $4M

The funding was part of a Series B round announced in August 2018. Bounce – then known as Metro Bikes - had earlier raised $12.2 million in a Series A round, led by Sequoia India and Accel Partners, along with Raghunandan G, Co-founder of TaxiForSure, and a consortium of other investors. Soon after, Metro Bikes rebranded itself as 'Bounce'.

Bounce, claims to do close to 24,000 rides a day and has in total done more than 1.9 million rides. Since the start of its service in September 2018, Bounce bikes claims to have clocked close to 15 million km. Users can avail the services at a nominal fee of Rs 6.5 km/hour. 

It has clocked over 1.3 million rides in three months, an impressive feat for a company that formally began daily commute services last year.

On the funding, Vivekananda HR, CEO and Co-founder, Bounce, said, “InnoVen has been a strong believer of our business since early days and has continued their support not only in form of capital but also relevant connections for business and fundraising.”

With close to 40 percent of Bounce rides in Bengaluru either originating or culminating at Metro stations, the company is creating a direct impact on urban mobility and usage of public transport. 

According to its RoC filings, Bounce revenues grew to Rs 5.4 crore in FY 2017-18 from Rs 4.3 crore in the previous fiscal. For the same period, losses widened from Rs 3.2 crore to Rs 7 crore. 

Founded by Vivekananda, Varun Agni, and Anil G, Bounce operates in over 10 cities. Given the rapid growth in the bike-taxi and bike-rental segment in India, it currently competes with the likes of Vogo, Rapido, RentOnGo, ZipHop, and ONNBikes. 

Mobility seems to be a sector in focus this year. Apart from Ola, Bounce, and Vogo, Gurugram-based bus aggregator Shuttl announced it had raised Rs 49.99 crore as a part of its Series B funding.

Also read: From Wicked Ride to Bounce: how this bike rental startup is on the road to changing the way urban India commutes