LimeBike, an app-controlled bike sharing platform, has secured funding from StartX to help it expand to 30 US markets by the end of 2017.
US-based bike sharing platform LimeBike received $50m in series B funding yesterday in a round featuring the Stanford-StartX fund, an investment vehicle backed by Stanford University.
The round was led by hedge fund Coatue Management, while GGV Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and DCM Ventures also took part, as did Franklin Templeton Investments, Section 32, AME Cloud Ventures and Durant Company.
Founded in 2017, LimeBike operates a dockless network of bicycles that users can rent temporarily by locating them through a mobile app and activating them by scanning a QR code. The company is currently active in 20 US markets and primarily targets university students.
The series B capital will be used to expand LimeBike’s operations, upgrade the software and tweak the design of its bicycles. LimeBike expects to be present in at least 30 US markets by the end of 2017, launching in one or two each week before expanding internationally in 2018.
Thomas Laffont, senior managing director at Coatue, will join LimeBike’s board of directors.
Andreessen Horowitz led a $12m series A funding for LimeBike in March 2017, with participation from IDG Ventures, DCM Ventures, Seven Seas, Immersion Ventures, Danhua Capital and angel investors Jason Zeng and Free Wu.
LimeBike has since also named UpHonest Capital and angel investor Gang Wang as series A backers.
Toby Sun, CEO and co-founder of LimeBike, said: “Bike sharing is shaping the future of transportation.
“We are passionate about solving the challenges of the first and last mile and we believe that better understanding the migration patterns of commuters can eventually help us to create efficiencies in urban mobility and cut down on carbon emissions in our cities.”
