India’s Bounce secures $6.5m from InnoVen Capital

India-based bike and e-scooter rental firm Bounce has raised an additional US$6.5 million in debt funding from InnoVen Capital.

Photo credit: Bounce

The latest funding brings InnoVen’s total investment in Bounce to US$12 million. It is the venture debt fund’s third investment in the Bengaluru-based company over the last 18 months. It also closely follows Bounce’s US$105 million series D round led by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital Group and Accel earlier this year.

According to a statement, the mobility startup plans to use the new funds to more deeply integrate electric vehicles (EVs) to its platform, bankroll its multicity expansion plans, and accelerate profitability. The company previously said that advancing the adoption of EVs will help it push toward sustainable mobility and assist in reducing costs per kilometer.

Bounce will also use part of the funds for a platform play so it can more easily tailor its solution to new markets it enters.

“As we expand to more cities and towns, we will transition to a diverse shared mobility platform to enable various mobility options as per specific needs of each customer,” said Bounce co-founder and CEO Vivekananda Hallekere.

Since being founded in 2014, the startup has expanded its fleet to over 23,000 vehicles, clocking in upwards of 130,000 rides a day. It currently operates a dockless scooter rental model in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, providing consumers with a micromobility solution for first- and last-mile travel.

To date, the company has raised a total of about US$200 million, according to a statement. After its series D raise, media reports estimated Bounce’s valuation to be around US$520 million.

Other investors in the startup include Chiratae Ventures, Falcon Edge, Maverick Ventures, Omidyar Network India, Qualcomm Ventures, and Sequoia Capital India.