Brief - The Hustle

Brazilian scooter startup Yellow raises $63m in Latin America’s largest ever Series A

Written by Wes Schlagenhauf | Jun 30, 2020 8:58:33 AM

Yellow, a Brazilian e-scooter and bike company, raised $63m in a Series A funding round led by GGV Capital.

According to TechCrunch, GGV Capital has backed several other transportation companies (including Lime), and this marks their first foray into the Latin American tech industry.

“RING RING!” *picks up banana phone*

“Yellow?”

After selling their ride sharing startup, 99, to Didi Chuxing for $1B last year, Ariel Lambrecht and Renato Freitas quickly joined forces with cycling industry veteran Eduardo Musa to form Yellow.

Soon after, the bike- and scooter-sharing service screeched into the eye-line of venture capitalists, raising a $12.3m seed funding round in April. 

US-based firms have remained notably absent from the Latin American tech sector. But

2017 was a marquee year for Latin American startups 

With more than $600m invested in the first quarter of 2018 alone, it’s not crazy to think the streak will continue. This could mean big green for Yellow — and, they’re going to need it.

Though most companies purchase scooters from Chinese suppliers, Yellow plans to build its own factory locally and manufacture its own hardware.