E-scooter firm Neuron banks $18.5m for Asia-Pacific expansion

Singapore-based shared e-scooter operator Neuron Mobility has raised US$18.5 million in a funding round led by global fund GSR Ventures and Australian venture capital firm Square Peg.

Existing investors Seedplus and Enterprise Singapore’s Seeds Capital also participated in the fundraise, which follows an earlier US$3.8 million seed round in December 2018.

From left: Neuron CEO and co-founder Zachary Wang, Square Peg partner Tushar Roy, Neuron chief technology officer and co-founder Harry Yu / Photo credit: Neuron Mobility

Neuron plans to use the new funds to accelerate its expansion efforts in Australia and New Zealand, enter new markets in Asia Pacific, and further develop its technology, it said in a statement. The startup currently operates in Singapore, Bangkok, Malaysia, and Chiang Mai.

Neuron claims it served more than 1 million rides regionally during the year. It ventured into the Australian market back in June after winning the permit to operate 60% of the scooter fleet allocation for Brisbane. The other 40% is set to be operated by US-based Lime.

Neuron also secured an exclusive license to operate the shared e-scooter program in Darwin City in Australia, as well as a trade license to operate in Auckland, New Zealand. Both are scheduled to launch early next year, the company said.

The company has also introduced technologies aimed at enhancing safety such as fall detection and a geofencing feature that can assign low-speed zones, no riding zones, and no parking zones in any given city.

In Neuron’s home market of Singapore, personal mobility devices were recently banned on public footpaths and sidewalks, following a string of e-scooter-related injuries and deaths. In response to the decision, Neuron CEO Zachary Wang previously told Tech in Asia that he believes licensing and regulating shared e-scooter firms would be better for the long term rather than prohibiting them from operating in public spaces.