Bolt records annual revenue of 2 billion euros

The rapid development of Bolt continues. Estonian startup, under the leadership of Markus Villig, has reported reaching an annual revenue of 2 billion Euros. The company is dynamically expanding, entering new markets and strengthening its position as a leader in the shared mobility industry.

During an interview for the 20VC technology podcast, hosted by entrepreneur Harry Stebbings, Villig announced that Bolt achieved an annual revenue of 2 billion Euros. He also described the dynamic development of the company since its establishment in 2013.

Initially, Villig developed the company by himself, scaling Bolt beyond the domestic market in Estonia with the support of a small team and an initial loan from his parents. Currently, Bolt offers five products, including taxi rides ordered through the app, rental of scooters and electric bikes, food and grocery deliveries, and car sharing. Today, Bolt operates in over 50 countries and is a leader in more than 20 of those markets.

Markus also questioned the view that the pool of tech talent in Europe is weaker than in Silicon Valley, highlighting the available talents in Europe as a key factor in Bolt’s success over the years.

“I disagree with the notion that marketing or engineering cannot be run at a global level in Europe,” said Markus Villig, founder and CEO of Bolt. “From our experience, what works much better [than hiring workers from the United States] is attracting talented and hardworking people from Europe who simply have never had the chance to compete at a global level before. They are the ones who truly built this company and grew with it – it’s a completely different mindset compared to hiring people in Silicon Valley who might move elsewhere after two years.”

Talking about the future, Markus stressed that autonomous vehicles are a significant strategic priority for the company and believes that platforms like Bolt will be crucial for implementing this technology on a large scale.

“Companies involved in passenger transport will be the best way to introduce autonomous cars to the market. Some think that companies will create their own operations, and companies like ours will be pushed out of the market. I think these people have no idea about the complexity involved, nor about the difficulty of scaling a network of such transports. We have been building this network for 11 years with people behind the wheel and this is already hard. If we add managing autonomous operations, cleaning cars, charging them, and the like, I think it will only get harder,” commented Villig.

However, Villig recommends caution in terms of introducing autonomous vehicle technology to the market, noting that companies operating in this sector are “years away from creating a service that will be commercially viable, cheaper than a driver, and meet regulatory requirements.”