- Laka, an insurance startup based in London, recently brought in $12 million in Series A funding.
- Founded in 2017, Laka has moved further into the mobility industry in recent years.
- The company works with major brands like Raleigh and Decathlon.
Laka, an insurance startup based in London, has brought in $12 million in Series A funding as it pushes into Europe.
Laka, founded in 2017, started by insuring commuters on high-end bikes against damage and theft but now also serves riders of e-bikes and cargo bikes, delivery-service riders, and other parts of the mobility world.
The startup works with cycling companies like Raleigh and Le Col; the outdoor-sports retailer Decathlon; and last-mile delivery companies such as Zapp.
“We’ve branched out from just the retail to commercial side across what we are calling ‘green mobility,'” Tobias Taupitz, Laka’s cofounder and CEO, told Insider. “It sometimes feels like we’re selling shovels in a gold rush, and the more customers we win the more data and insight we have.”
Laka’s raise was led by the US mobility investor Autotech Ventures alongside Ponooc, a Dutch sustainable-mobility investor with close ties to the bike seller Pon, and ABN AMRO Ventures.
Funding conversations began last September. Laka has been keen to talk up its mobility credentials, and it’s brought in several specialty investors that are helping funnel prospective customers to Laka’s platform.
The rise of sectors like last-mile delivery and the increasing use of e-scooters and e-bikes are feeding into a growing market for companies like Laka.
“We want to be the global leader in this green-mobility space, and we think there’s a value add to building out the product to serve not just transport but logistics too,” Taupitz said.
The company said the funding would go toward doubling the company’s headcount to 60 employees. Many hires are expected in the Netherlands, where Laka has based its European operations. It also plans to expand into France, Belgium, and Germany.
Check out Laka’s pitch deck below:
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