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Singapore-based shared micro-mobility startup Beam has secured US$93 million in a Series B round of investment led by private equity firm Affirma Capital.
Sequoia India, Hana Ventures, ICT Capital, EDBI, AC Ventures, RTP Global, and Momentum Venture Capital also participated.
Beam will use the funds to expand into Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Turkey.
The startup also plans to introduce e-mopeds into its vehicle portfolio. The new 5th generation Beam Saturn e-scooter has 12-inch wheels (20 per cent larger than the average e-scooter) combined with hydraulic suspension for the smoothest riding experience. It has fully swappable batteries with sufficient capacity for 110 km of riding range.
A portion of the new funds will be used to introduce cutting-edge safety innovations to protect pedestrians, enhance councils’ control of city spaces for zoning and parking, and drive safer usage of vehicles by riders.
Also Read: Neuron Mobility extends Series A by US$12M to accelerate e-scooter expansion globally
Beam was founded by Alan Jiang (CEO) and Deb Gangopadhyay (CTO). Jiang previously led the APAC operations of bike-share operator ofo (shut down in 2018). He also 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.
The startup claims it has grown revenues by 15x since its launch in 2020, despite experiencing mobility restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Beam has operations across five countries: Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia.
Gangopadhyay said: “We bring our 5th generation Beam Saturn e-scooter to cities with MARS technology that will provide significant advancements in safety, city zoning control, rider behaviour management, and sustainability. We have also created innovations to reduce risks to pedestrians with the Beam Pedestrian Shield, an onboard AI camera that can instantly and accurately detect pedestrians to prevent collisions. It can also detect footpaths to reduce vehicle speed or even prevent riding completely automatically.”
In June 2020, Beam raised US$26 million in a Series A funding round led by Sequoia India and Hana Ventures, with participation from several unnamed investors across APAC. Two years earlier, it announced a US$6.4 million seed fundraise led by Sequoia India, Founders Fund, ZhenFund, and Class 5 Global.
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