Singapore-based mobility solutions startup Neuron Mobility recently announced that it had secured a total of US$18.5 million in a Series A funding round led by early-stage venture capital firm GSR Ventures and Square Peg Capital, a Series A and Series B-focused venture capital firm that has made investments in Indonesia’s fintech startup FinAccel, Malaysian local services marketplace Kaodim, and Singapore’s real estate marketplace PropertyGuru. Other participants of the funding round include SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, and SeedPlus, which is a Singapore-based seed-stage venture capital firm. Both SEEDS Capital and SeedPlus are existing investors for the e-scooter sharing startup. The closing of the Series A financing round is timely as the startup will utilize the newly acquired funds to ignite its expansion plans as it seeks to establish footholds in new overseas markets just as their home base of Singapore began introducing stricter regulations a few weeks ago that has severely impacted the business operations of e-scooter service providers and those dependent on e-scooters.
The personal mobility solutions startup, which operates one of Singapore’s largest shared e-scooter fleets, will use the funding from its closed Series A round to bolster and scale its e-scooter operations in the markets of New Zealand and Australia. It is learnt that Neuron Mobility has successfully secured operating licenses for its fleet of e-scooters in the cities of Darwin, Australia’s Northern Territory capital, and Auckland, New Zealand’s largest and most populous city. The e-scooter startup can begin operations in both cities starting next year, and it will have a monopoly on the e-scooter space for the city of Auckland. Neuron Mobility also has a commanding presence in Australia, which is a major market for the company whereby it operates sixty percent of e-scooters in the city of Brisbane alone. Besides expanding its reach in the existing markets of Australia and New Zealand, the startup is also considering forays into new markets, though it has not yet given any indication of what these new markets will be.
According to a press release by the startup, the fresh capital will also be used to further accelerate and advance its technology capabilities. The personal mobility solutions startup operates its own fleet of customized electric scooters, the Neuron N3, which it says is the world’s first commercial-grade e-scooter that is specifically made and developed for the sharing economy with the paramount safety of its riders in mind. As such, the N3 comes with some impressive features such as solid, silicone tyres that can be ridden on all types of terrain, a speedometer screen on its handlebars, a GPS-enabled parking indicator and more.
According to Richard Lim, GSR Ventures’ managing director and one of its co-founders, the venture capital firm was impressed by Neuron Mobility’s technology-driven approach to overcoming challenges and issues in the personal mobility space, which they find to be quite appealing and invigorating. Mr. Richard further noted that the startup’s focus on technology gives them an edge when it comes to the urban mobility space, and that they have a clear shot at being a global revolutionary and transformational force for disrupting the urban transportation space.
Zachary Wang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Neuron Mobility, said that the successful close of the startup’s latest US$18.5 million financing round will enable it to capitalize on current tech developments to further enhance and improve its fleet of Neuron N3s, as well as to explore and create new mobility solutions.
Neuron Mobility, the e-scooter sharing startup, will use the fresh funds to expand its market reach in Australia and New Zealand, explore and develop new technologies, and to look into new overseas markets. With backing from GSR Ventures and Square Peg Capital, it will continue its vision of building smart and sustainable personal mobility solutions that it hopes will play an important role in the development of smart cities in Southeast Asia.
