Berlin’s Tier Mobility scoops up $60M for its scooter-based transportation service
https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/07/berlins-tier-mobility-scoops-up-60m-for-its-scooter-based-transportation-service/
On the heels of Bird closing a $275 million round to help put itself in pole position in the electric scooter market, a smaller European rival has also raised some money to grow its own business. Tier Mobility, a Berlin-based startup that operates a fleet of 20,000 scooters across 40 cities in 12 countries, has raised $60 million, funding that co-founder and CEO Lawrence Leuschner said Tier plans to invest in further geographical expansion and technology.
Tier earlier this year started to describe itself as a “micro mobility” player, with plans to augment scooters with other transportation options, but in an interview Leuschner declined to say what those might be, or when they will come online. In the meantime, it’s been upgrading its fleet to a more robust hardware to cut down on maintenance costs (which has typically been one of the biggest strains on scooter startups): these newer scooters have lifespans of around 18 months and now make up some 80% of Tier’s current fleet, Leuschner said.