E-bike start-up Zoomo inks deals with pizza giants, secures $16m funding

Australian-based Zoomo has secured $16 million in a new round of funding off the back of deals with pizza delivery giants such as Pizza Hut and Domino’s.

By switching from delivery vans to e-bikes, researchers estimate that up to 75% of carbon emissions associated with last-mile logistics can be avoided.

In a new announcement on Tuesday, Zoomo outlined details of the funding which was lead by venture investment company AirTree and also includes funds from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), Maniv Mobility, Contrarian Ventures as well as with mobility and cleantech-focused US investors Winthrop Square and Wisdom VC.

It is the second tranche of funding involving the CEFC, which in August 2020 lead another $16 million round of funding. All in all the company has raised $34 million in the past two years.

Zoomo is a provider of electric bikes that can be accessed via subscription models that seek to help commuters choose personal last-mile transport solutions. In September, it commenced a trial with office lease giant Dexus to make e-bikes available for staff members working in its buildings.

Services provided as part of its business model include same-day-servicing and anti-theft technology, enabling it to unlock carbon-friendly transport solutions to its customers without the need for internal maintenance and management.

Through deals such as new ones inked with Pizza Hut and Dominos, Zoomo is also helping logistics and food delivery players also achieve carbon neutrality goals.

“We initially built our products to service the demands of gig workers in the food delivery industry,” Zoomo CEO and co-founder Mina Nada said in a statement.

Their expectations for quality commercial vehicles, on-demand service, flexible financing and tech-enabled security features spurred us to innovate.”

The new funding will help the start-up expand its operations in global markets. With offices already in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne as well as New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Philadelphia in the US and London and Liverpool in the UK, it now has its eye on continental Europe and other states in the US.

The deals with fast food delivery giants encompasses big names like Pizza Hut, Uber Eats, Domino’s, the UK’s Just East (the owner of Menulog) and deliveroo.

With Coronavirus still very much a concern in countries overseas, the on-demand grocery sector is also seeing a boost, having risen in value by an estimated $18 billion since the pandemic took hold.

Zoomo has been able to step into this sector also, in the form of deals with grocery delivery players Getir, Gorillas and Dija, all of which have a presence in the UK.