Bolt (company)

The company is headquartered in Tallinn and operates in over 500 cities in more than 45 countries in Europe, Africa, Western Asia and Latin America.

Markus built the prototype of the app while personally recruiting drivers on the streets of Tallinn after receiving a €5000 loan from his family.

Lawyers representing the drivers estimate that Bolt could face a financial liability exceeding £200 million as a result of this decision.

[17] Prior to announcing a partnership with Didi Chuxing, Bolt had raised over €2 million in investment capital from Estonian and Finnish angel investors.

[19] A May 2018 funding round with a $175 million investment from Daimler, Didi and others led to a 1 billion dollar valuation for the company, making it a unicorn.

The financing, supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), is to boost Bolt's product development in areas where technology can improve the safety, reliability and sustainability of its services.

[23][24] In March 2021, Bolt raised €20 million from International Finance Corporation, a World Bank Group member, for further expansion in emerging markets.

[28] In January 2022, Bolt raised €628 million from investors led by Sequoia Capital and Fidelity Management and Research Co, taking the company's valuation to €7.4 billion.

[31] In November 2022, Bolt scooters were integrated into the Norwegian MaaS application, Ruter,[32] and in May 2023 — into Berlin’s mobility app, Jelbi.

[44] In August 2019, Bolt and the University of Tartu announced a partnership on an applied research project to develop technology for self-driving cars.

A map of countries in which Bolt operates, Nov 2024
Availability of Bolt, as of Nov 2024:
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A group of deliverymen for Bolt Food in Bucharest , Romania
Markus Villig, Founder & CEO, Bolt
Markus Villig , Founder & CEO of Bolt, in 2021
Bolt Scooter
A Bolt Scooter parked in Halle (Saale) , Germany.