The scooter fight in Europe continues to heat up. Flash, the startup of delivery hero maker Lukasz Gadowski, until recently called Goflash, announces a € 55 million financing round. Gadowski is investing its own money, and Target Global’s mobility fund. French investor IDinvest and Signals from Berlin have also joined. German startups had already reported on the upcoming round of financing. This mobility startup lends electric scooters in European cities, tests are already running in Zurich and Lisbon.
Several well-financed competitors have already launched in recent weeks. Among them the Berlin-based company Tier Mobility, financed with 27 million euros of venture capital. The Holtzbrinck Investment Wind and the Swedish provider Voi, which has recently received the equivalent of 43 million euros. All these players lend their scooters in several European cities, and Animal Mobility in Vienna. US startups such as Bird and Lime are also entering the European market. Electric scooters are not yet allowed in Germany, and the industry is expected to change the laws in the coming months.
All providers are concerned with the question of how long the scooters last. Only when they are in use for a certain period, the model pays off for the companies. For this reason, Lukasz Gadowski works with Flash on his own scooter, which should last longer. In addition, the company works together with partners on a scooter, which provides more security, as Gadowski says in an interview with founder scene. “The width of the handlebar could lead to more stability. Apart from conventional scooters, our own models are already being used in test mode”, says Gadowski.
However, scooters are only the first step. Flash wants to develop additional vehicles for short distances, the so-called micro-mobility. As the founder says, “I do not know what they will look like today either” . 60 employees works for Flash a few months after launching. Gadowski does not want to comment on further expansion. He added, “The market is big, it’s up to the teams, whoever wins”.
Also published on Medium.