Social Bicycles, now officially known as Jump Bikes, has just closed a $10 million Series A round led by Menlo Ventures with participation from Sinewave Ventures, Esther Dyson and others.
“At Menlo Ventures, our investment team supports entrepreneurs who are on a mission to change the world—including, how consumers move through it,” Menlo Ventures Managing Director Shawn Carolan said in a statement. “Our 2011 investment in Uber taught us important lessons about the challenges and possibilities for urban mobility technology. Menlo is proud to partner with JUMP, and we believe their dockless e-bike network will be a critical piece of the puzzle.”
Jump, which makes pedal-assist e-bikes that don’t require docking stations, plans to use the funding to enter new markets, make additional hires and build on its existing hardware and software products.
This comes just a few days after the company became the first stationless bicycle service to receive a permit to launch in San Francisco. Last week, Jump received a permit from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to launch 250 dockless electric bikes in San Francisco sometime between now and the end of March.
“There’s an opportunity with e-bikes to bridge the gap between bikes and cars,” Jump CEO Ryan Rzepecki said in a statement. “JUMP e-bikes let riders go farther, get there faster, and they’re insanely fun – and our initial data is proving it. We feel confident that our e-assist technology will revolutionize how people explore and navigate their cities and are far ahead of any other solution available today. It’s exciting to have a partner like Menlo Ventures help us lead this round of funding and show their belief in our approach.”
Jump has already launched its e-bike network in Washington D.C., and plans to launch in Sacramento and Providence, Rhode Island later this year. Through its software and hardware offerings, it operates via third-parties, like cities, campuses and corporations, in 40 markets including Portland, New Orleans and Atlanta.
Jump, a New York-based company, first launched in 2013. Before this injection of funding, the company had raised a $1.1 million seed round in 2013.
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