EMERGING TECH RESEARCH

Mobility Tech
Q1 2020

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Contents
Q1 highlights and updates: Mobility tech 3 Credits & contact
Executive summary 4 Asad Hussain
Key takeaways 5 Analyst, Emerging Technology
asad.hussain@pitchbook.com
VC activity 7
206.480.1378
Market map 8
Bailey York
Segment deep dives 10 Data Analyst

Autonomous vehicles 10
Research
Ridesharing 28
analystresearch@pitchbook.com
Micromobility 39
Carsharing 52 Design
Cover and layout by Mara Potter
Last-mile delivery 62
Fleet management & connectivity 74
Electrification 85
Supplemental materials 98

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Mobility Tech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 2
Executive summary
The global transportation system has been profoundly affected by the COVID-19
pandemic. Carmakers have seen significant sales declines and manufacturing grind
to a halt, airlines have been hit particularly hard by declines in air travel and public
transportation system finances have been strained due to ridership declines. In this
environment, startups focused on transportation technology have seen a significant
impact to their business models. Social distancing and stay-at-home orders have resulted
in ridership plummeting for ridesharing, micromobility and carsharing startups. At the
same time, key corporate financiers in the transportation space have seen their core
business models suffer, weighing on these companies’ ability to invest in emerging
technology. Financial investors are pulling back on mobility investing due to the sector’s
high concentration of low-margin, capital intensive businesses, and this dynamic is
affecting dealmaking in the space. These factors will likely result in a challenging
operating and funding environment for mobility startups in the near to medium term,
especially for those in need of growth capital.
Venture funding has been key to fueling the growth of mobility tech. Since 2009,
venture investors have poured $204.5 billion into mobility technology, with $36.0 billion
invested in 2019. Despite the crisis, Q1 2020 was a strong quarter for investing in mobility
technology with $11.8 billion invested in the space, up 62% over Q1 2019. This sustained
ability to finance capital expenditure-heavy private mobility startups helped fuel the rise
of Uber and Lyft, two companies revolutionizing and disrupting traditional methods of
consumer—and increasingly commercial—transportation. We believe autonomous vehicles
may represent the next phase of disruptive mobility technology, with startups such as
Zoox, Nuro and Aurora Innovation poised to usher in a new era. This report provides an
overview of the mobility tech landscape and the products and services of the venture-
backed startups in the space.

Although the mobility sector faces near-term challenges, we believe the long-term drivers
for the sector remain intact. Next generation mobility technology has given rise to several
disruptive products and services including ridesharing and delivery platforms, shared
scooter and bike services, and connected and autonomous vehicle technology. Over the
past few years, many of these emerging technologies and services have become ingrained
in the everyday lives of consumers. As the world emerges from this crisis, we believe
strong underlying demand for low-cost, convenient and efficient mobility solutions will
persist.

1: “TET 2018–Chapter 6–Household Spending on Transportation,” Bureau of Transportation Statistics, United States Department of Transportation, n.d.
2: “Cars Are Parked 95% of the Time’. Let’s Check!” Reinventing Parking, Paul Barter, February 22, 2013

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Mobility Tech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 4
SEGMENT DEEP DIVE

Autonomous vehicles
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
amounts of data with a greater focus on machine learning. Ascent Robotics has adopted
a similar approach and partnered with Microsoft to train industrial robots. These kinds of
novel approaches will be key to solving issues surrounding the limitations of deep learning
technology and ultimately enabling commercialization.
Commoditization of sensor technology: In the longer term, we believe price compression
for lidar systems could have a negative impact on gross margins for suppliers and make
it more difficult for new entrants to compete. While costs can remain high in the near
term as autonomous vehicle companies undergo testing phases and are willing to spend
more on new technologies, we believe downward pricing pressure is already occurring in
the lidar industry. Waymo has reportedly lowered the cost of its in-house mid-range lidar
units to just $4,000, and lidar company Strobe announced that it has lowered the cost of
its lidar technology by 99%, after which it was acquired by Cruise Automation. For more
on this dynamic, see our note on the future of automotive lidar.
Outlook
Autonomous vehicles rollouts delayed from coronavirus: In the near term, we expect
a pullback in investing in autonomous technology as automakers and suppliers reduce
spending in the space. Self-driving companies Waymo, Cruise, Argo.AI, and Pony.AI have
already suspended testing due to coronavirus concerns. As with the broader mobility
space, we expect reduced investment in autonomous vehicle technologies from VCs and
financial investors. This pullback will primarily affect earlier-stage providers with lower
market share, shorter cash runways and fewer established partnerships. We would not be
surprised to see a significant shakeout of the tail-end of this fragmented industry. As this
PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Mobility Tech
occurs, Alphabet—with its established balance sheet, relatively insulated core business
and already formidable lead over competitors—could be well-positioned to gain market
share, increasing its lead in testing and potentially acquiring technologies at significant
discounts. Longer term, we continue to view adoption of autonomous vehicle technology
as a stable secular trend and maintain our favorable long-term outlook for the space.
Social distancing to drive demand for autonomous delivery: Autonomous delivery robots
are a logical solution for consumers requiring food and other essential goods during
periods of social distancing. As of March 2020, Starship Technologies and Postmates
have been offering autonomous at-home food delivery services in certain markets such
as Tempe, Arizona and Los Angeles. Starship, which was previously testing on college
campuses, has pivoted to offer at-home delivery. Nuro, a key leader in the space, has
received a testing permit from California to operate in San Mateo and Santa Clara, but has
had to suspend operations due to worker stay-at-home orders.
Timeline for mass Level 4/5 rollouts to lengthen: Market consensus on the adoption
timeline for autonomy is extending as it has become increasingly clear to companies,
investors and industry participants that widespread Level 4/5 autonomy will be a longer-
term (10+ years) trend. That said, we continue to anticipate the launch of commercialized
autonomous vehicle applications in the medium term, with initial driverless use cases likely
focused on certain geofenced urban locations, such as closed campuses and communities,
or areas reserved for logistical activities. We do not anticipate mass rollouts (of the kind
Tesla espouses) in the near or medium term and believe it is more likely ++that additional
locations will be added incrementally as providers expand operations. The technology still
needs to be finetuned, and the process of mapping new locations is capital intensive and
time consuming.
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SEGMENT DEEP DIVE

Ridesharing

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RIDESHARING
Opportunities
Emerging markets: With Uber and Lyft dominating the US market, more opportunity
may exist in emerging markets. Local operators have significant competitive advantages
as they understand the nuances and complexities of local markets in ways global
competitors may not. In Egypt, for example, Uber eventually acquired local competitor
Careem for $3.1 billion (a premium valuation) after failing to gain significant share on its
own. Emerging markets startups include Grab and Go-Jek, the largest ridesharing and
fintech platforms in Southeast Asia. Smaller ridesharing competitors in Southeast Asia
include Be (Car Booking) and Go-Viet. South Asia represents another area of opportunity,
where venture-backed startup Ola has begun operating its own fleet of electric vehicles.
In South America, local companies including Cabify and 99 compete with Uber and Didi
Chuxing.
Europe: While efficient and widely used public transportation and strict regulations
complicate the European market, we still see sizable growth ahead. Uber management
views Europe as a 1.9 trillion-mile TAM opportunity, or roughly 54% of the US opportunity,
and we view ridesharing as a potential alternative for medium-length trips in some
European cities. We believe the largest markets in Europe include Germany, the UK,
Scandinavia, France and Italy. The largest VC-backed European ridesharing companies
include Cabify, BlaBlaCar, Bolt and Heetch.
Fintech services: Facilitating payments and offering other financial services can be a key
differentiator for mobility platforms that can drive stickiness and cross-sell opportunities.
Seamless payment processing was a key driver of Uber’s early adoption in the US and
PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Mobility Tech
Europe, and the company continues to push into additional financial services, such
as deposit accounts and credit cards. In Southeast Asia and South America, mobility
companies such as Grab, Ola, Rappi and Go-Jek have also moved into fintech; and China’s
WeChat and Alipay offer wide-ranging services from payments to ridesharing.
Niche ridesharing: Many startups are focused on providing user-specific ridesharing
services, such as female or child-focused ridesharing. Companies offering ridesharing
services for minors include Zum and HopSkipDrive. These platforms target parents and
provide on-demand or pre-arranged transportation services to shuttle children between
school and other activities. Drivers on these platforms are typically thoroughly vetted with
more stringent background checks and training. Brazil-based Lady Driver, which raised
a seed round in June 2018, and Canada-based DriveHER match female drivers to female
passengers to provide a safer rider experience. Long-range ridesharing platforms, such
as Hitch Technologies, focus on matching multiple riders to drivers taking longer trips.
Ridesharing app Wingz focuses on prescheduled airport rides and creating personal
relationships between travelers and drivers.
Lower valuations could signal attractive entry point: Prior to the coronavirus crisis, we
noted that investors were increasingly valuing ridesharing companies as lower-margin
transportation companies instead of software companies, leading to lower valuation
multiples in the space. As the coronavirus pandemic develops, we expect private
valuations in the ridesharing space to further converge to public valuations. As this trend
occurs, lower ridesharing valuations could provide an attractive entry point for those
optimistic about the industry in the long-term.
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SEGMENT DEEP DIVE

Micromobility

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Mobility Tech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 39
 MICROMOBILITY

Figure 29.
Recent deal sizes of VC-backed micromobility companies by total capital raised ($M)

$4,500

Hellobike
Later VC ($400M)
$4,000
Hellobike
Later VC ($584M)

$3,500
Hellobike
Series F ($1,000M)

$3,000

$2,500 Ofo
Series E ($700M)
Total raised

Voi Technology Bird Rides

$2,000 Series B ($85M) Series C1 ($158M)
Lime
Series D ($310M)

$1,500 Ofo
Tier Mobility Series D ($450M) Lime
Series C ($335M)
Bird Rides
Early VC ($9M) Series D ($275M)

$1,000

Gogoro Revel
Series C ($300M) Series A ($28M)
$500 Tier Mobility
Series A ($37M)

$0

February 22, 2008 July 6, 2009 November 18, 2010 April 1, 2012 August 14, 2013 December 27, 2014 May 10, 2016 September 22, 2017 February 4, 2019 June 18, 2020

Source: PitchBook | Geography: Global | *As of March 31, 2020

Note: Bubble size is based on deal size.

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Mobility Tech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 44
SEGMENT DEEP DIVE

Fleet management & connectivity

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Mobility Tech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 74
Mobility tech VC funnel
This VC funnel uses PitchBook data to analyze the VC funding life cycle by highlighting, by
round, the number of firms that successfully raised a subsequent round, exited (through
Start with 750 companies
acquisition or IPO), went out of business or did not have a further liquidity event. having raised their first
round of funding between
2008 and 2014

Round 1 750

Round 2 520 53 68 109

Round 3 401 30 23 66

109 companies did not raise

any further funding after
Round 4 290 27 11 73 round 1 (to date)

Round 5 190 17 8 75
68 of the cohort have gone
3 bankrupt or out of business
after their first funding round
Round 6 117 15 55
53

Round 7 72 37 17 companies were acquired

or went public after having
raised four rounds of funding

Raised a VC round Acquisition/buyout/IPO Out of business/bankruptcy Did not advance/self-sustaining

PitchBook Emerging Tech Report: Mobility Tech CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION. PG 103
About PitchBook
Emerging Tech Research Additional research

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Machine Learning Brendan Burke
Independent, objective and timely market intel Brendan Burke brendan.burke@pitchbook.com
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As the private markets continue to grow in complexity and competition, it’s essential for Insurtech
investors to understand the industries, sectors and companies driving the asset class. Cloudtech & DevOps Robert Le
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Our Emerging Tech Research provides detailed analysis of nascent tech sectors so you paul.condra@pitchbook.com
can better navigate the changing markets you operate in—and pursue new opportunities Internet of Things (IoT)
Fintech Brendan Burke
with confidence.
Robert Le brendan.burke@pitchbook.com
robert.le@pitchbook.com
Mobility Tech
Foodtech Asad Hussain
Alex Frederick asad.hussain@pitchbook.com
alex.frederick@pitchbook.com
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Kaia Colban asad.hussain@pitchbook.com
are based on information from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be
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