Berlin-based kick scooter company Tier Mobility said on Friday it had extended an investment round to more than $100 million as it seeks to expand across Europe.
Started in October 2018, Tier now operates in 55 cities in 11 countries, growing in a crowded market that is facing pressure to consolidate and a backlash over the battery-powered scooters often left strewn by the side of city streets.
The additional debt and equity funding was from RTP Global, Novator and a US venture debt firm, Tier said in a statement, and comes on top of a $60 million (Dh220.3m) investment in October by Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment company.
RTP's Anton Inshutin said Tier had delivered "class-leading unit economics, enabling them to expand profitably in the winter".
Germany legalised kick scooters last summer. They were an immediate hit with people looking to get around town quickly and easily, while other city-dwellers have been irritated by the two-wheelers left cluttering pavements.
The upper house of parliament, however, recently voted down a proposal to require scooter operators, which include US groups Bird, Lime and Uber Jump and European players Circ and Voi, to get permits to park.
