Sequoia, Fidelity in EUR 628m investment round for Bolt

Venture capital firm Sequoia previously invested in Bolt back in August 2021, as reported. The VC's third fund, Sequoia Global Growth Fund III, held a first close in April 2018 on USD 6bn. According to Unquote Data, the fund invests in early-stage growth capital globally and has a 1% management fee to attract backers.

Bolt intends to use the investment to broaden its product line, according to a press release.

Growth capital investments have fostered a number of unicorns in recent years, including Germany-based grocery delivery startup Flink, which closed on USD 750m in a Series B round in December 2021 valuing it at USD 2.85bn, as reported; fellow German delivery startup Gorrillas, which raised nearly USD 1bn in a Series C round led by Delivery Hero valuing the company at USD 2.1bn; France-based online bank Qonto, which secured EUR 486m in a Series D led by Tiger Global and TCV to reach a valuation of EUR 4.4bn in January 2022; and Mollie, a Netherlands-based e-payments software developer that secured USD 800m in a Series C led by Blackstone Growth to achieve a valuation of USD 6.5bn in June 2021.

Previous funding
Bolt, formerly known as Taxify, raised USD 175m in May 2018 in a round led by Germany-based automotive group Daimler, reaching a valuation of USD 1bn. Other investors included Korelya Capital, Did Chuxing and Transferwise founder Taavet Hinrikus.

In July 2019, Bolt secured an undisclosed investment from NordicNinja VC, according to a press release at the time. Other investors included Naya Capital, Creandum, G Squared, Invenfin and Superangel.

In May 2020, Naya Capital Management led a EUR 100m round for Bolt, which valued the company at EUR 1.7bn.

In December 2020, D1 Capital Partners led a EUR 150m financing round, with Darsana Capital Partners participating.

In March 2021, International Finance Corporation invested EUR 20m in Bolt.

In August last year, Bolt raised EUR 600m in a funding round from investors including Sequoia, Tekne, Ghisallo, G Squared, D1 Capital and Naya. The round valued Bolt at more than EUR 4bn.

Company
Bolt is an Estonian ride-hailing service that was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Tallinn. It offers cars for hire, car-sharing, scooters and a food delivery service. Bolt operates in 400 cities across 45 countries, including in Europe and Africa.

People
Bolt – Markus Villig (founder, CEO).

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