Voi, Europe’s largest shared micromobility startup, is in talks to acquire Bolt’s shared micromobility branch. Frederik Hjelm, the CEO of Bolt, has expressed interest in discussing possible partnerships. Then there’s Bolt, known primarily for its ride-hailing services, just made a huge leap. It has expanded into grocery and food delivery and car rentals. In FY 2024, Bolt crossed the $2.11 billion annual revenue mark. This is a dramatic jump from about $2 billion in 2023. The company had trouble too, posting an operating loss of $108 million in 2021.
Hjelm acknowledged the complexities of the micromobility sector during a recent event. He noted the additional burdens posed by fall-out from this dynamic. More specifically, he pointed to the lack of network effects that you see in other services like food delivery and ride-hailing. Micromobility is really hard,” Hjelm said. Indeed, it has a very significant hardware component, but it still does not have the same network effects that are pulling other industries such as food delivery and ride-hailing into grocery delivery.
Even with these hurdles, Voi was able to celebrate an important milestone. The company is coming off its first profitable year, with an adjusted EBITDA of $17.9 million. This success will have surely sparked conversations at Bolt about how to leverage Bolt’s micromobility offerings to create synergies. Hjelm’s remarks at the Swedish House Mafia reunion hinted at a forward-looking approach towards Bolt’s prospects.
He wrote, “I’m in Stockholm for the Swedish House Mafia reunion. Tomorrow I start the process of considering Bolt and where we go from here.
When looking back at the last two to three years, Bolt became a profitable company on its own. This transformation has cemented it as an influencer across many sectors. Hjelm emphasized the need for Bolt to excel in various business verticals: “Our challenge is to be extremely good in several verticals.”
Recently, Michael Washinushi, another industry expert, discussed why Bolt’s strategy is so misguided. In particular, he noted that the company engages in loss leader pricing in order to lure customers. That’s because “Bolt uses price as a loss leader,” he laid out. He contrasted this approach with effective vehicle placement strategies that can optimize rides and pricing: “You can dump thousands of vehicles and hope people get rides, or you can… place half those vehicles at the right place and right time to optimize the rides and optimize the price.”
Voi is presently exploring its next steps, as the acquisition process gets underway with Bolt’s micromobility division. With this potential acquisition, the shared mobility services landscape stands to be radically transformed. Both companies are evidently ramping up interest, illustrating a growing transition in the market. Partnership could soon be a necessary ingredient to address operational hurdles and increase bottom lines.