Estonian ride-hailing and food delivery start-up Bolt said on Thursday it had hit €2bn (R38.51bn) in annual revenue, as the European rival of US-based Uber grows its global presence and prepares to go public.
The company said its app had reached more than 50 countries and it is the No 1 operator in more than 20 of them, having widened its offering to ride-hailing, scooter and e-bike rental, food and grocery delivery and car sharing.
Its home country of Estonia is one of Europe's largest tech hubs, housing more than 1,450 start-ups, according to the government.
“I don't really agree that you cannot figure out how to do world class marketing or engineering from Europe,” Bolt's CE Markus Villig said in the statement.
Ride-hailing companies will be the best way for self-driving cars to come to market, he said, but added that companies are “years out before having a service that is commercially viable, cheaper than a human driver and one that meets regulatory requirements”.
Bolt was set up in 2013 and nine years later was valued at more than $8bn (R145.98bn), when it raised €628m (R12.09bn) from investors in January 2022.
Villig told Reuters last year the group would be ready for an initial public offering (IPO) in 2025.
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