Sydney-based e-bike developer Zoomo is driving the electrification of last-mile delivery, with its growing 10,000-strong fleet backed by a recent $16 million Series A funding round led by new investor AirTree Ventures.
AirTree was joined by existing investors Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), Maniv Mobility and Contrarian Ventures in the raise, as well as new backers Winthrop Square and Wisdom VC from the US.
Formerly known as Bolt Bikes, the company is the result of ex-Deliveroo and Mobike executive Mina Nada and his former Bain colleague Michael Johnson taking their side hustle full time in 2019.
In the past two years they have raised a total of $34 million, with the latest injection going towards the development and production of the brand's next generation vehicle offerings as well as supporting global expansion to satisfy customer demand.
Research undertaken last year by the University of Salford in the UK shows businesses have the potential to reduce their carbon emissions by switching deliveries from vans to e-bikes, and Zoomo's founders are on a mission to make this a global reality with offices in Australia, the US and the UK.
In Australia the company has announced several new customer wins in the enterprise space, including Getir, Gorillas and Dija in the 10-minute grocery space, while it has also signed up Pizza Hut, several Domino's (ASX: DMP) franchisees and the owner of Menulog in Australia, Just East Takeaway.
"We initially built our products to service the demands of gig workers in the food delivery industry," says Nada.
"Their expectations for quality commercial vehicles, on demand service, flexible financing and tech enabled security features spurred us to innovate.
"We're now seeing enterprises and fleet managers benefiting from the platform we have built. Enterprise fleet managers looking for clean and efficient vehicles are choosing us."
Companies are increasingly setting big, public targets to go green, electrifying delivery fleets as part of this commitment to reduce carbon emissions.
"Supported by regulatory and cultural tailwinds, Zoomo is accelerating the electrification of global transport, starting with last mile delivery," says AirTree Ventures principal Jackie Vullinghs.
"Their full stack offering from e-bikes and e-mopeds to finance, servicing and fleet management makes it easy for global food, grocery and logistics businesses to choose carbon neutral."
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