BOLT

Markus Villig was 19 and living in Tallinn, Estonia when he launched the app, originally called Taxify, in August 2013. He saw Uber spreading globally but noticed it was expensive and took big commissions from drivers.

Villig believed he could build a similar service with lower fees and better driver economics, focused on markets Uber was neglecting: Eastern Europe, the Balkans and Africa. The first money was a EUR 5,000 loan from his family.

Taxify grew steadily across Europe, expanded aggressively into Africa, and renamed itself Bolt in March 2019 as it added scooters and food delivery.

Bolt offers ride-hailing, e-scooter and e-bike rentals, car-sharing, food delivery and grocery delivery in more than 50 countries across Europe, Africa and beyond. Revenue comes from commissions on rides, delivery fees, scooter and car rental fees, and Bolt Business corporate accounts.

Its pitch has always been lower commissions than Uber, so drivers keep more of each fare. In 2025 it booked EUR 2.27 billion in revenue and its first full-year net profit, a thin EUR 0.9 million.

Bolt Rides (ride-hailing), Bolt Scooters and Bikes (micromobility), Bolt Food (restaurant delivery, since 2019), Bolt Market (grocery delivery, since 2021), Bolt Drive (car-sharing, since 2021), Bolt Business (corporate rides)

Undercut Uber on price and driver commission to win share, then layer food, grocery, scooters and car-sharing on top to become a super-app. It has also started going after Uber's own backyard: Dubai in late 2024, Toronto and Washington DC in 2025, and Auckland the same year.

In late 2025 it signed robotaxi partnerships with Pony.ai and Stellantis, with a goal of 100,000 autonomous vehicles by 2035.

Competing against Uber and local champions in dozens of markets at once, each with different rules, payment habits and rivals. Profit is wafer thin: EUR 0.9 million of net income on EUR 2.27 billion of revenue in 2025.

Regulation is the other risk. In November 2024 a UK employment tribunal ruled that Bolt drivers are workers rather than independent contractors, a decision that could cost it around GBP 200 million.

The scooter and delivery businesses add revenue but also operational complexity.

After a EUR 5,000 family loan and about EUR 1 million from Estonian and Finnish angels, China's Didi invested in 2017. Daimler led a $175 million round in 2018 that made Bolt a unicorn.

A EUR 150 million round followed in December 2020, then EUR 20 million from the World Bank's IFC in 2021. Sequoia Capital led EUR 600 million in August 2021 at a EUR 4 billion valuation, and Sequoia and Fidelity led EUR 628 million in January 2022 at EUR 7.4 billion, about $8.4 billion.

Other backers include D1 Capital Partners, G Squared and Naya Capital. Bolt has also used venture debt from the European Investment Bank and a EUR 220 million credit facility.