With the rise of urban mobility solutions including e-scooters and last-mile delivery services, access to the already scarce public spaces has become a major challenge for cities.
To promote the development of these services and the access to low-carbon mobility for all citizens, operators and cities need to work together closely and confidently.
This is where Paris-based Vianova, a data platform that helps cities better integrate and manage shared, connected, electric and autonomous transport solutions, comes into play.
£1.6 million funding!
Recently, the French startup has announced to have raised €1.8 million (approx £1.6 million) seed round led by RATP Capital Innovation and Contrarian Ventures. The new funding will help the company to expand its European footprint and target new, adjacent markets.
Further, the startup will also use the funding to integrate various mobility modes (e.g. carsharing, robot taxis, drones, etc.) and develop new use cases within the transport ecosystem, such as new connections to MaaS initiatives.
Expanding to the UK
It’s worth mentioning that Vianova is working with micro-mobility brand Voi (which has several contracts for e-scooter trials) and local authorities in the UK on policies and data sharing to support micro-mobility. In fact, Vianova’s first UK local authority partner will be going live this year.
Partners with leading mobility operator
Founded in 2019, Vianova builds a digital layer between cities and operators to foster collaboration and facilitate a modal shift toward more sustainable and accessible modes of transport.
The platform already accounts for more than two million trips per month, with city partners including Brussels, Helsinki, Zürich, and Stockholm. Notably, the company facilitates mobility data sharing between 10 cities and 20 mobility operators across Europe.
Leading mobility operators – including Bird, Voi, and Bolt – have also chosen to partner with Vianova to improve the compliance and operational efficiency of their fleets, and to enable new business opportunities.
The rapid development of urban mobility is challenging cities in the way they organise public space. Our city partners now consider data as an essential tool of their governance, and our close collaboration on this subject has led to the development of increasingly advanced use cases” commented Thibault Castagne, co-founder & CEO of Vianova. “Mobility operators also understand the major role that cities can play in their development and success. Over the past few months, our work to bring these two worlds closer together has been extremely exciting, and we are delighted to be joined by RATP Capital Innovation and Contrarian Ventures in this journey.”
“After meeting the team in Paris a year ago and watching their tremendous progress since then, we are very excited to invest in Vianova,” says Contrarian Ventures Partner Tomas Kemtys. “The company has essentially created an “air traffic control room” that enables much better integration and collaboration between cities and mobility operators: the pandemic has only accelerated the multiple trends around sustainable mobility and Vianova will play the key role in bringing them to reality”.
In these regards, RATP Group will be a key growth partner, thanks to its international presence and leadership in the area of urban mobility. Contrarian Ventures brings its expertise as the most active energy tech and mobility fund in Europe.