UCD e-Scooter spin-in Zipp Mobility raises €1.3m in funding drive to support expansion plans
Posted 13 August, 2021
E-scooter start-up (opens in a new window)Zipp Mobility, headquartered at NovaUCD - University’s Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs, has raised €1.3 million following its latest funding round.
The micromobility operator secured a total of €500k from two prominent angel investors, including Barry Maloney - founding partner of Balderton Capital, one of Europe’s largest early-stage venture capital firms, and former CEO of Esat Digifone, Ireland's second largest mobile operator.
The UCD based firm also received €250k from Enterprise Ireland during this latest funding round, and raised €562k through a crowdfunding campaign on the Spark Crowdfunding platform.
To date, Zipp Mobility has now raised over €2 million in funding and secured a number of high-profile private investors, including former Irish rugby international Brian O’Driscoll.
The company is currently operating e-scooter schemes in eight cities across Poland and the UK, with plans to roll-out its shared e-scooter service across Ireland - pending e-scooter legislative approval – and additional European countries.
“We have experienced great momentum in the last 12 months, showcasing our service to hundreds of thousands of people across the UK and mainland Europe,” said Charlie Gleeson, CEO and Founder, Zipp Mobility.
“We are now excited to grow our European position, following our latest funding round, by continuing to offer sustainable transport alternatives to millions of people across the continent.
“Over the last two years we have been in discussions with Irish local authorities, and we have been sharing our international experience with them to ensure that scooter-sharing schemes are rolled out safely and responsibly once e-scooters are legalised in Ireland.”
Investor Barry Maloney added: “I am delighted to invest in Zipp Mobility. Charlie epitomises the kind of entrepreneur I am delighted to be supportive of.”
Zipp Mobility was founded in 2019 by Charlie Gleeson, a graduate of the UCD Lochlann Quinn School of Business, who earlier this year received the 2021 NovaUCD Founder of the Year Award.
The company is headquartered at NovaUCD, and currently employs a staff of 25 but expects to grow the team to 35 by the end of 2021.
Since last November Zipp Mobility’s UK customers have completed over 150,000 journeys and spent over 1 million minutes on their scooters, resulting in approximately a 70-tonne reduction in carbon emissions.
By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations (with materials from Micéal Whelan, UCD Research and Innovation)
