Zipp Mobility looks to raise €1m in new crowdfunding campaign

E-scooter start-up Zipp Mobility, whose backers include former Irish rugby international Brian O'Driscoll, is looking to raise €1 million in a new crowdfunding campaign.

The fundraise is essentially an extension of the company’s seed round and if successful will bring total investment to date to €2 million.

The start-up is hoping to secure €500,000 from private investors via the campaign and a simliar amount from the general public.

Founder and chief executive Charlie Gleeson told The Irish Times that the funding will be used to acquire over 2,500 e-scooters as the company looks to expand into more markets across Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe.

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He said part of the reason for opting for a crowdfunding campaign is that Zipp wants to ensure a strong long-lasting relationship with its customers.

“One of the key differentiators for Zipp is our community-centric approach to scooter sharing. We want to create long term relationships within the communities we serve and want our customers to be part of Zipp’s journey, as well as the greater micromobility movement. We wanted to offer our customers a chance to own a piece of Zipp,” he said.

Process

“As well as this, the crowdfunding process is relatively short compared to institutional funding rounds. Our growth opportunities are imminent so crowdfunding suits us nicely,” Mr Gleeson added.

The campaign, which is to be held on the Irish platform, Spark Crowdfunding, goes live on Friday.

Zipp is among a large number of shared e-scooter service providers who hope to launch in the Republic shortly. It is already active in Britain, where it has secured a number of licenses with local councils to run operations. It is also in talks with a number of local authorities across Europe.

The Zipp e-scooter features an aircraft-grade aluminium frame, 10-inch airless tyres, a swappable battery, dual braking, a wide base and a low centre of gravity. The start-up claims its e-scooter has a useful lifetime of more than two years, compared with the estimated industry average for shared scooters of just three months.

Government Chief Whip Jack Chambers on Monday published the Dáil's summer schedule which includes the Road Traffic (Misc Provisions) Bill, which will legislate for and regularise the usage of e-scooters.