European eBike Startup Dance Raises $12.8M

Micromobility startup Dance has raised about $12.8 million to expand its eBike offerings in Europe.

The company, which offers electric bike and moped subscriptions to customers and businesses, said in a Thursday (Feb. 16) press release that it will use the funding to grow in the five cities where it operates: Paris, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Vienna.

In addition to its business-to-consumer (B2C) offering, Dance also has a B2B service, which lets companies — including Google and Urban Sports Club — offer Dance’s bikes and mopeds as an employee benefit.

“At the start of the year, Dance announced a partnership with the startup IoT Venture, a pioneer in the connected bike sector,” the release said. “Their smart technology enables the location and recovery of bikes and protects Dance’s eBikes even better against theft.”

There are a number of use cases for micromobility products. Consumers might be too far to walk to a store, but too close to drive. And commuters might be looking for a way to close the gap between the place where public transit drops them off and their workplace or school.

“It’s being used of course by tourists, and more and more, as the service has become wider and more reliable, we’re seeing that it is becoming a part of people’s daily commute,” Jonathan Hannestad, chief operating officer of micromobility firm Helbiz, told PYMNTS earlier this month.

He noted that cities with high-quality public transportation want to help travelers cover that last mile, while cities that lack public transportation want to help people get around without a car.

“Solving the car dependency is a big, big thing for us,” Hannestad said. “Between 25% and 30% of all car trips in the U.S. and Europe are less than one mile, and shifting just a fraction of this will significantly improve congestion, air quality and life in all these cities — of course, making it easier to get from A to B.”

Micromobility businesses have blossomed throughout European cities in the past few years, fueled by demand for an alternative to the enclosed spaces like bus and metro networks during the pandemic.

Among these are Estonian micromobility companies Ampler and Kõu Mobility, which this week announced they had decided to merge. The companies formed an investment and share-swap agreement that makes Kõu the new majority shareholder of Ampler.

“Ampler and Kõu Mobility Group have been pursuing a similar mission and have already cooperated in the past, so it made a lot of sense to take the next step,” said Ardo Kaurit, CEO and co-founder of Ampler. “As they say, ‘If you want to go far, go together.’”

The deal expands Kõu’s stable of micromobility companies, which already include Tuul, an electric scooter rental service, Äike, an electric scooter maker, and Comodule, which offers software and internet of things (IoT) solutions for light electric vehicles.

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