OK, fairly or unfairly, this story gives me some Scooter Wars deja vu. Whizz, a New York City company offering e-bikes on a subscription basis, has raised $12 million Series A to buy more bikes and expand its eco-friendly solution to last-mile delivery to new markets.
The Scooter Wars comparison is a bit unfair. That saga was about a glut of mostly recreational scooters polluting the streets of cities like Paris with discarded rental scooters. Most of these startups went away.
It was a moment. And a cringy one at that. But the scooters were fun. The scooters still exist, but they are not the blight they were just a few years ago.
Building a Moat
The Whizz Series A, a combination of debt and equity, was led by Caymans-based LETA Capital, with participation from Flashpoint VC and others.
Whizz was founded in 2020 by Alex Mironov, Ksenia Proka, Artem Serbovka, and Mike Peregudov, who is the CEO.
In a statement, Peregudov suggested the funding will help Whizz build a moat around the business.
“Since its launch in 2022, Whizz has sped ahead of its competitors by building the safest and most reliable delivery e-bike on the market and creating powerful software that has allowed the business to grow exponentially without breaking down,” Peregudov said.
“The moment has come when the market is moving…into maturity. Regulatory pressure is increasing, which will make it difficult for new businesses to enter the market. But it’s welcomed news for established companies such as Whizz, and we fully intend to stake our claim as the number one e-bike rental service in the U.S.,” Peregudov said.
The company’s main business is renting out e-bikes to delivery riders for $159 per month. Whizz partners with major local delivery platforms like DoorDash and GrubHub.
One of Whizz’s selling points is that many of the riders it serves, including many immigrants, would have a hard time qualifying for loans to purchase the e-bikes outright. And in crowded urban spaces like New York City, bikes seem to make more sense than cars. Using e-bikes vs conventional bicycles also expands the rider’s service range.
Whizz says the new funds will go to purchasing additional vehicles, including all-new electric mopeds. Whizz currently operates in New York and New Jersey. The funding will also help Whizz expand operations across the United States, beginning in 2025.
