Scooter-sharing startup from former Uber exec raises US$6.4 million
The startup will roll out its service soon and then will expand to Malaysia, Australia and South Korea
Beam, a Singapore-based startup that provides an online e-scooter sharing platform, has announced it has raised US$6.4 million (S$9 million) in a seed funding round led by Sequoia India, Founders Fund, ZhenFund, and Class 5 Global.
Other backers include Arbor Ventures, Insignia Ventures Partners, 500 Startups, Gobi Partners, K2 Global, Pascal Capital, Maloekoe Ventures, and Cherubic Ventures.
With this seed funding, Beam will invest heavily in building the core infrastructure for its platform, including initial e-scooter purchases, development of the Beam mobile app, and growing the team for its imminent rollout in Singapore.
As per a Bloomberg report, the company will soon roll out its service in Singapore, before eventually expanding to Malaysia, Australia and South Korea.
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Beam was founded by Alan Jiang (CEO) and Deb Gangopadhyay (CTO). Jiang has previously led the APAC operations of ofo, a popular bike-share operator in Asia, and played a key role in launching Uber across Asia, including China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Gangopadhyay has experience in building successful SaaS tech startups in Silicon Valley.
Beam is focused on expanding transportation options in Asia beginning with e-scooters. As Asian cities continue to grow, Beam will provide urban residents the opportunity to take ownership of their personal transportation options.
Consumers can locate and unlock a scooter using their phones by paying S$1 (72 U.S. cents) to start with, and then they need to pay 15 Singaporean cents a minute. No deposit is required.
Sharing mobility, especially the e-scooter market, is expanding rapidly across the world, and Beam aims to become not just a leader in the sharing space across Asia, but also a champion of safety and the communal aspects of the sharing economy.
CEO Jiang said: “We want to change the fundamental way that people move around Asian cities. Our goal with Beam is to create a shared mobility platform focused on providing real transportation options.”
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Abheek Anand, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital (India) Singapore, added: “Shared personal mobility is a promising solution to the largely unsolved problem of first and last mile transportation. The founders of Beam have a deeply relevant background and a compelling vision for what urban transportation should look like. Sequoia India is excited to partner with them as they bring their product to the APAC market.”
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