Bolt Receives $109 Million Injection From Naya Capital

Formerly known as Taxify, Europe based ride hailing company Bolt has announced having received a total of 100 million Euros ($109 million) from investment firm Naya Capital Management.

Bolt says it will be using the funds to maneuver its way out of the plunge inflicted in it by coronavirus pandemic. Ride hailing business tops among most affected sectors since stay at home orders and movement restrictions has caused a significant decline in the ride hailing business.

“Even though the crisis has temporarily changed how we move, the long-term trends that drive on-demand mobility such as declining personal car ownership or the shift towards greener transportation continue to grow,” said Bolt CEO, Markus Villig.

The recent capital injection raised Bolt’s market value to 1.7 billion euros, the CEO says among top of its priorities is to increase its market share and have a larger bargaining power against its rivals in the sector including Uber Technologies (UBER) and Lyft Inc. (LYFT).

In the next 12-18 months we have an opportunity to win market share,” said Villig.

Last month, Bolt had embarked on a mission seeking a state bailout of 50 million euros credit, however the company confirmed abandoning the plan further faulting the government for not expressing any interest in the plan.

We understood quickly that from the state side there was no interest and we buried this plan,” said Villig.

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