Taxify changes name to Bolt, expands transport options beyond private cars

Anca Alexe 07/03/2019 | 08:08

Estonian ride-hailing company Taxify has announced a major change: it will change its name to Bolt, the name it has been using for its new electric scooter service, in order to highlight the fact that it provides transportation options beyond private cars, according to Techcrunch.

The company now has 25 million users in 30 countries and its strategic name change comes as it has started to look for another funding round. Its last round was in May 2018, when it secured USD 175 million from Daimler and reached a USD 1 billion valuation.

CEO Markus Villig explained in an interview that “Bolt” will imply speed and electricity, and that the company is counting on the fact that the future is fully electric. They also wanted to remove the word “taxi” from their name in order to remove the impression that the company only offers car-based rides.

Bolt plans to add more scooters and other individual transport modes, as well as public transport links, according to Villig, which is why “the old name was too restrictive.”