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Japanese joint micromobility startup Loop has raised $30 million (4.5 billion yen) in a Series D financing round consisting of 3.8 billion yen in equity and 700 million yen in debt.
Loop has so far raised a total of $68 million in equity, debt and equity financing, with sources valuing the company at more than $100 million. The company declined to comment on the review.
In light of the sector’s growing popularity, the Japanese government has moved aggressively to loosen e-scooter regulations to further stimulate the micromobility industry. From this July, the amendment to the country’s road traffic law will allow e-scooter users to ride without a driver’s license or helmet as long as they have a speed of 20 kilometers per hour.
In an interview with TechCrunch, Loop CEO Daiki Okai said the startup’s big plan is to expand its e-scooter and e-bike business to Japanese cities and tourist destinations. It aims to achieve a scale comparable to traditional modes of public transport such as trains, which handle hundreds of thousands of daily commuters. The Loop wants to turn a lot of underutilized open space into “ports,” or designated parking lots for electronic scooters and e-bikes, including office buildings, condominiums, storefronts and small urban spaces.
Historically, Japanese cities were built around large train stations, resulting in an inconvenient mode of transportation for those living far from these central hubs. Loop aims to make the entire city a “station front,” creating a high-density network to create a more convenient environment for those living far from train stations, he said.
In the year Founded in 2018, Loop will introduce shared e-scooters in 2021 and grow its fleet to approximately 10,000 e-scooters and e-bikes. The company reported more than 1 million app downloads in Japan and expanded its port network to 3,000 in six cities this year. Loop’s goal is to operate more than 10,000 parking stations by 2025.
Although other companies such as Docomo Bike Share and Open Streets run shared e-bikes, they lack e-scooters and have fewer ports than Loop. The Japanese start-up currently holds the largest ports in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. Some international e-scooter operators have also entered the Tokyo market, such as US-based Bird and South Korea-based Swing, but have so far met with limited success.
When the revised road traffic law takes effect this July, Okai said he expects a big increase in ridership, including foreign visitors, as e-scooters will no longer require a Japanese driver’s license. It also sees the potential of Loop’s high-density site network to facilitate expansion into broader infrastructure businesses, such as drone and delivery robot hubs.
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