Less than three months since launching its pilot program, DANCE has closed a €15 million Series A funding round with the goal of bringing its joyful, sustainable and frictionless e-bike subscription service to the world.
Led by Eric Quidenus-Wahlforss, Alexander Ljung and Christian Springub, DANCE has ambitions to offer its all-inclusive service subscription package into expanded markets across Europe and eventually the U.S.
E-bikes are a fast and efficient means of urban transport on routes up to 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), but are still notoriously expensive to purchase and a hassle to repair.
On-demand shared micro mobility providers are expensive and oftentimes have availability issues. As city commuters and consumers alike look to greener and more reliable transport alternatives for all aspects of their daily lives, DANCE offers an exciting new model.
Further, even the most modern of e-bikes are based on decade old designs, technologies and philosophies – and don’t harness the power of the web and a connected community. Contrast this to cars, where sensors, data and algorithms already play a key role.
“The goal of DANCE is to spark a global movement built on a connected community of passionate e-bike riders, ultimately making cities more bike-friendly and livable,” says Eric Quidenus-Wahlforss, Co-Founder and CEO of DANCE.
“We’ve become inundated with positive responses from around the world since we announced our invite-only pilot program, and it’s become crystal clear just how much desire, demand and excitement there is for a service like DANCE across the world. DANCE is a holistic solution built for the person interested in saving time, the environment and staying healthy.”
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, bike usage was already gaining popularity, but exploded when social distancing restrictions were put into place globally. In the UK sales of e-bikes have boomed as travel restrictions encouraged commuters to seek alternative transport methods with some retailers seeing a 230% increase in demand over the summer.
“The mobility market is seeing a huge shift towards bikes, strongly fueled by the paradigm shift of vehicles going electric. Unfortunately, the majority of e-bikes on the market today have some combination of poor design, high upfront costs and cumbersome maintenance,” said Rainer Märkle, General Partner at HV Holtzbrinck Ventures.
“DANCE is by the far the most viable future of biking, bridging the gap between e-bike ownership and more joyful accessibility to go places.”