Electric scooter sharing and Tesla Model Y taxi service Revel raises huge $126 million for expansion

Whether you know Revel from its bright blue electric scooters or from its somehow brighter blue Model Y taxis, you could soon be seeing much more of the company. That’s thanks to a massive new $126 million funding round just announced by Revel.

The new Series B funding round was reportedly led by BlackRock Renewable Power.

Toyota Ventures, the Japanese automaker’s early stage VC firm, also increased its investment in Revel, as did Shell Ventures, Goodyear Ventures, Broadscale Group, the St. Baker Energy Innovation Fund, and Obsidian Ventures.

The move will also see representatives from BlackRock and Toyota Ventures join Revel’s board of directors.

Revel’s modest rollout of 100 electric mopeds in NYC began the company’s operations back in 2018.

Since then, Revel has expanded to thousands of electric mopeds and increased its footprint to locations like Miami and Oakland, California.

Along the way, Revel has built out its business across other revenue streams. Electric bicycle subscriptions were added to offer a smaller-format electric vehicle.

Then Revel added a taxi service using Tesla Model Y vehicles. Not only was it innovative for its choice of vehicle, but Revel also employs all of its drivers, providing them the benefits that come with full-time employment (unlike Uber’s and Lyft’s copout that leaves their drivers as unsupported “independent contractors” and slices a microscopically thin hair in the tax code).

Revel then expanded into electric vehicle charging hubs designed to be brand agnostic, allowing all electric vehicles to gain a speedy DC fast charge.

Revel’s diversification has seen it expand beyond moped-sharing as a direct competitor to companies like Lime and Bird, and instead helps the company offer a variety of services all focused on using sustainable electric transportation to display conventional fossil fuel-powered alternatives.

Now with a much larger war chest, Revel is poised for even more aggressive expansion.

What do you think we’ll see next from Revel? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments section below!

via: Techcrunch

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