A Chicago-based electric scooter and bike service startup has raised a Series A round of funding as it works to bring its micromobility offerings to more cities.
Veo announced Tuesday that it raised $16 million in a round led by Autotech Ventures, a Silicon Valley VC firm that has also invested in Lyft and SpotHero. UP.Partners, FJ Labs and Interplay Ventures also participated.
The funds will be used to expand Veo’s footprint across the country to cities like New York and Santa Monica, Calif., and double its staff. The startup currently employs about 100 people.
Founded in 2017 by CEO Candice Xie and President Edwin Tan, Veo originally launched as a bike-sharing company, and has since expanded to offering e-scooters as well. The company’s micromobility services are now available in more than 40 cities and universities nationwide.
As one of Chicago's only homegrown scooter startups, Veo was competing with other popular scooter brands, like Lime and Bird, during Chicago’s first e-scooter pilot in 2019.
In the scooter-sharing market, Veo has tried to differentiate itself by designing and manufacturing its own scooters, which are made in Asia. Many other scooter companies buy their devices from third-party manufacturers.
Veo scooters are powered by swappable batteries, which allows the company’s technicians to replace battery packs on site as opposed to relying on third parties to charge scooters for them. Veo scooters also feature dual mechanical breaks, which the company says is more reliable than an electronic break. The scooters also feature mountain bike-like suspension, and its wheels are larger and more powerful than the average scooter.
"At Veo, we are laser-focused on the long term with high quality vehicles and lasting city partnerships," Tan said in a statement. "Our goal is to overhaul a dangerously unsustainable transportation sector with fun, affordable, and safe electric vehicles."
To complement its scooter sharing service, Veo launched in a retail vertical last year and began selling e-scooters directly to consumers. Called the Astro Go, the scooter is foldable, has turn signals and can go up to 30 mph. It can be purchased in Veo's mobile app for $650.
