Bounce raises funds from InnoVen for EV integration, expansion

Bounce, an app-based two-wheeler rental start-up, has raised US$ 6.5 million from venture debt investor InnoVen Capital, taking its total debt funding from the latter to around US$ 12 million. This is InnoVen’s third investment in Bounce in a span of 18 months.

The company plans to use these fresh funding for electric vehicle (EV) integration, geographical expansion, and for operations.

This investment by InnoVen into Bounce has come weeks after the Bengaluru-based start-up raised US$ 105 million in a Series D round led by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s venture capital fund B Capital in February. The company became the biggest in terms of valuation in mobility segment in the country after the round had valued it at a little over US$ 500 million.

So far, funds raised by Bounce stood at around US$ 200 million from notable investors such as Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners India, Chiratae Partners, Omidyar Network, Vistra ITCL, SCI Investments, and Qualcomm Ventures.

“The first time we invested in Bounce in 2018, we were actually helping the company build a credit history by giving money on the debt side. Our first investment into Bounce was a risky bet, but then the company went on to do three successful funding rounds and hence we believe that they are the clear market leader in the two-wheeler rental space," Mr Ashish Sharma, managing director, InnoVen Capital.

Presently, Bounce operates a fleet of more than 23,000 two-wheelers in 35 cities, offering service in two formats—a per-hour rental option and a dockless two-wheeler sharing option. This is majorly aimed at daily commuters where users can pick up and drop the vehicle only within city limits. The rental start-up had crossed 100,000 daily rides mark in its home city in Bengaluru in October 2019.

So far, InnoVen Capital India has completed over 250 transactions with more than 170 startups across various stages, including Swiggy, Byjus, Oyo Rooms, CureFit, Myntra, DailyHunt, FirstCry, Blackbuck, Rivigo, Ather Energy and Yatra. "In the last 24 months alone, we have completed around 30 transactions as follow-up investments in our existing portfolios," added Mr Sharma.

Bounce directly competes with other mobility services such as VOGO, which had raised US$ 100 million from Ola in December 2018 for its docked two-wheeler rental service and Yulu, which provides electric cycles and bicycles for hire and secured an US$ 8 million investment from Bajaj Auto Ltd in November 2019.

“InnoVen has backed our vision from very early days and been an incredible partner to work with. 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. The fund raised will help in realising these goals while we march towards profitability," said Mr Vivekananda H.R, chief executive of Bounce.

The start-up was founded in 2014 by Mr Vivekananda H.R., Mr Anil G and Mr Varun Agni. The six-year-old start-up also has an electric vehicle arm named ‘Zuink Smart Mobility Solutions’.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.