Sequoia-Backed Electric Scooter Startup Beam Secures $93 Million Funding

Singapore-based startup Beam—an electric scooter and bike provider backed by the likes of Gobi Partners, Sequoia Capital India and ZhenFund—has raised a $93 million Series B funding round, led by Affirma Capital, bringing the four-year-old startup’s total funding to $125 million.

“We are extremely excited to partner with a visionary fund such as Affirma Capital to bring lower cost, greener, and safer mobility for cities across APAC,” said cofounder and CEO Alan Jiang, a Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia alum from 2019, in a statement.‍ 

New investor EDBI, the investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board, also participated, along with previous backers including Sequoia Capital India and Seoul-based Hana Ventures.

“The micromobility industry is unfolding rapidly in Asia Pacific and Beam is the regional leader in the space,” said Taeyub Kim, a founding partner of Affirma Capital. “Beam is equipped with highly capable management, technological agility, proven operational capabilities, and a capital-efficient expansion strategy to solidify its leadership.”

With a fleet of electric scooters and bikes, Beam operates in 35 cities across Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. Users can access Beam’s app to locate a vehicle near them, unlock it to travel, and drop it off at any public location once they’ve finished. 

The latest round of funding comes almost two years after Beam raised $26 million in a Series A funding round. In 2018, the startup raised $6.4 million in seed funding led by Sequoia Capital India, Founders Fund, Forbes Midas Lister Anna Fang’s ZhenFund, and Class 5 Global.

Beam says that it has grown revenue by 15 times since 2020, and with its current reach, a trip takes place every 2 seconds. Like other electric scooter and bike companies, Beam implements IoT and tracking technology to make sure their vehicles are secure.

Going forward, the startup says it plans to add electric mopeds to its vehicle portfolio, becoming the first “tri-modal micromobility operator” in the Asia Pacific. The Series B funds will be used to expand, enhance safety technology and introduce a new version of its electric scooter. 

Across Asia, several startups that provide electric scooters or bikes have emerged in the past five years. Swing in South Korea announced in early February that it raised $24 million in a Series B round to spur its growth and expansion to Japan. In India, electric bike startup Bounce reported it raised a $105 Series D round in 2020, but it hit the brakes on regional expansion due to the pandemic.