US-based bike-sharing service LimeBike has raised $70m in a series B extension from Fifth Wall Ventures and Rainbow Technology to bring the round’s total to $120m.
The deal follows a $50m initial close in October 2017 that featured the Stanford-StartX fund, an investment vehicle backed by Stanford University, and was led by Coatue Management.
The first tranche also included DCM Ventures, GGV Capital, Franklin Templeton Investments, Section 32, AME Cloud Ventures and Durant Company.
LimeBike additionally named Andreessen Horowitz, NGP Capital and Decent Capital as investors in the series B round, though it did not clarify which tranche the three firms took part in.
Founded in 2017, LimeBike operates a network of dockless bikes that users can rent through an app and activate by scanning a QR code. The company has also added electric-assist bikes and electric scooters to its network.
The company previously focused primarily on university students but is shifting its approach to partnering commercial real estate owners. Fifth Wall Ventures is expected to be instrumental in this goal, as its backers include multiple real estate companies.
The funding will help drive LimeBike’s expansion in the US and Europe – up from its current network of 35,000 bicycles across 46 markets – and support ongoing research into enhancing its fleet as well as work on improving its mobile apps.
Andreessen Horowitz led a $12m series A round in March 2017, with contributions from IDG Ventures, DCM Ventures, Seven Seas, Immersion Ventures, Danhua Capital and angel investors Jason Zeng and Free Wu.
UpHonest Capital and private investor Gang Wang have since also been identified as series A investors.
Toby Sun, co-founder and chief executive of LimeBike, said: “With this new funding and set of partnerships, we are officially shifting gears from being a bikeshare company to a smart mobility solution provider.
“The new capital further solidifies our leadership position in the shared mobility industry as our market-ready, multi-modal mobility solution helps to meet the various needs of that first and last mile transportation challenge.”