Taxify, a leading European on-demand transportation platform, is changing its name to Bolt and introducing a new logo.
The update brings the brand identity in line with the company’s broader vision of transportation that has already expanded from ride-hailing, with cars and motorbikes, to scooter sharing.
The Didi Chuxing and Dialmer AG -backed company has predominately concentrated on Eastern Europe and African markets, but launched its e-scooter business, Bolt, in Paris in mid-2018.
Speaking on why the company chose to make the change, Markus Villig, CEO and co-founder, Bolt said, “Taxify launched five years ago with a mission to make urban transportation more convenient and affordable. Our first product was a taxi dispatch solution that gave the company its original name.”
Taxify raised $175 million in May last year, at a $1 billion valuation, in a deal led by Daimler. It has 25 million registered users across the 30 countries it’s active in, according to a spokesman.
The Estonian-born tech company has evolved in leaps and bounds since its inception and is currently working on expanding the scooter sharing service across a number of European cities.
“While we’ve made progress on our mission, we’ve also started to outgrow parts of our brand, including the name. Given our ambition to solve transportation problems on an increasingly broader scale, we want the brand to reflect the company’s future rather than the past. Our new name ‘Bolt’ stands for fast, effortless movement – exactly what the experience of getting around in a city should be, be it by car, scooter or public transport. It also underscores our belief that the future of transportation will be electric,” Regional Manager for West Africa at Bolt, Uche Okafor, explained.
The new brand will be gradually rolled out across Bolt’s global markets over the following weeks. Bolt users will not need to take any action as the app will update automatically.
Founded by Markus Villig, Bolt launched in 2013. It’s one of the fastest-growing transportation platforms in Europe and Africa. Other investors include Korelya Capital and TransferWise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus. Bolt previously Taxify, launched in Nigeria in 2017 and operates in Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Owerri and Benin.
Villig teamed up with his brother Martin, ex-Skype, to build the first version of Bolt in 2013 when he was 19 years old. Markus has been featured as the youngest CEO in Forbes Europe 30 under 30 list and is the youngest founder of a billion dollar company in Europe.
BALA AUGIE
