Vianova raises $2.2 million Seed Round to help cities build their post-covid transport systems
We are excited to announce that we have recently closed a $2.2 million Seed Round led by RATP Capital Innovation and Contrarian Ventures to improve collaboration between cities and shared mobility operators, as well as to promote more efficient use of public space.
With the rise of new urban mobility solutions, such as e-scooters and last-mile delivery services, access to already scarce public space has become a major challenge for cities. In order to foster the development of these services and their potential to facilitate access to low-carbon mobility for all citizens, operators and cities are looking to work together closely and confidently.
Since starting in early 2019, Vianova has quickly become a trusted third party data platform, facilitating mobility data sharing between 10 cities and 20 mobility operators across Europe. Thanks to Vianova’s platform, API suite, and policy knowledge, cities have been able to make better, data-driven decisions about transport and urban planning. “There are more and more vehicles on the streets while public space is constrained. If we want these services to thrive in a serene manner, we need a more peaceful management of urban space. Vianova’s digital tools make this possible” explains Stéphanie Bourgeais, Managing Director at RATP Capital Innovation.
Our platform already accounts for more than two million trips per month, with city partners including Brussels, Helsinki, Zürich and Stockholm. In addition, Vianova recently joined what will become the world’s largest urban logistics and curbside management project, working with the Paris Region. Leading mobility operators — including Bird, Voi and Bolt — have also chosen to partner with Vianova to improve the compliance and operational efficiency of their fleets, and to enable new business opportunities. “Vianova has essentially created an “air traffic control room” that enables a much better integration and collaboration between cities and mobility operators: the pandemic has only accelerated the multiple trends around sustainable mobility and Vianova will play the key role in bringing them to reality” says Contrarian Ventures Partner Tomas Kemtys.
The rapid development of urban mobility is challenging cities in the way they organise public space. Our city partners now consider data as an essential tool of their governance, and our close collaboration on this subject has led to the development of increasingly advanced use cases. Mobility operators also understand the major role that cities can play in their development and success. Over the past few months, our work to bring these two worlds closer together has been extremely exciting, and we are delighted to be joined by RATP Capital Innovation and Contrarian Ventures in this journey.
This new capital will enable us to expand our European footprint and target new, adjacent markets, notably through a first strategic project in the USA. Vianova will also keep integrating more mobility modes (e.g. carsharing, robot taxis, drones, etc.) and develop new use cases within the transport ecosystem, such as new connections to MaaS initiatives. In these regards, RATP Group will be a key growth partner, thanks to its international presence and leadership in the area of urban mobility, while Contrarian Ventures brings its expertise as the most active energy tech and mobility fund in Europe.
If you have any comment that you would like to share with Vianova, please send your comments to cicero@vianova.io.
If you would like to learn more about what it is like to work at Vianova, and join our talented team, visit our job-board or send directly your application to jobs@vianova.io.
