[Funding alert] Scooter sharing startup Bounce raises $6.5M from InnoVen Capital

Bengaluru-based scooter sharing startup Bounce has raised $6.5 million in debt funding from existing investor InnoVen Capital. This marks InnoVen Capital’s third investment in Bounce, in a span of 18 months, taking the total debt investment to $12 million, exclusively from the firm. 

Ankit Agarwal, Director, InnoVen Capital India, said, 

“InnoVen has been associated with Bounce since early days and impressed by the phenomenal progress they have made in a relatively short period of time."

Bounce said it will use the financing to fuel a deeper electric vehicle (EV) integration, multi-city expansion, and platform play, in a bid to accelerate profitability.

Bounce recently raised $105 million as part of its Series D funding round, led by Accel Partners and B Capital Group, taking the total capital raised to over $200 million.

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Urban transportation is a major problem in Indian cities due to lack of proper infrastructure, growing congestion and pollution. Bounce was founded in 2014 by Vivekananda HR, Anil G and Varun Agni, with a mission to provide consumers with a cost-effective micro-mobility solution for first and last mile travel. 

Vivekananda HR, CEO and Co-founder, Bounce, added, 

“As we expand to more cities and towns, we will transition to a diverse shared mobility platform to enable various mobility options as per specific needs of each customer. The fund raised will help in realising these goals while we march towards profitability.”

Bounce currently operates a low-cost, dockless scooter rental model in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, with a fleet of 23,000+ vehicles (20,000 in Bengaluru and 3,000 in Hyderabad) and clocking more than 130,000+ (1,00,000+ in Bengaluru , 30,000 + in Hyderabad) rides a day. 

The company said the biggest impact of Bounce is in enabling usage of mass rapid transit (MRT), around 42 percent of its rides either start or end at a metro station. 

Started in 2008 as the first dedicated venture debt provider in India, InnoVen Capital India has done over 250 transactions with more than 170+ startups across various stages, including Swiggy, BYJU'S, Oyo Rooms, Cure.fit, Myntra, DailyHunt, FirstCry, BlackBuck, Rivigo, Ather Energy and Yatra. 

(Edited by Evelyn Ratnakumar)