Estonian Bolt raises $709M at $8.4B valuation

Bolt, an Estonian startup and app for on-demand transportation and delivery, has raised $709 million (€628 million) and almost doubled its valuation to $8.4 billion (€7.4 billion), TechCrunch informs.

• Founded in 2013 by Markus Villig, Bolt is a Tallin-based company that provides a ride-hailing platform, shared cars and scooters, and restaurant and grocery delivery. Bolt mainly covers the Central, Eastern European, and African markets.
• Sequoia and Fidelity co-led the round with the participation of Whale Rock, Owl Rock, D1, G Squared, Tekne, Ghisallo, as well as other unnamed investors.
• Only four months earlier, in August 2021, Bolt raised $680 million (€600 million) at a valuation of $4.8 billion (€4 billion) in Series E. That round was also led by Sequoia. After the latest round, Bolt’s valuation nearly doubled.
• Since August, Bolt has grown its customer base from 75 million to more than 100 million in 45 countries and 400 cities.
• The fresh funds will be spent on geographical expansion and attracting more customers and partners to its app. Bolt also plans to build “dark stores” in more cities to expand the service beyond the ten where it’s active today.