Accel, B Capital, and Qualcomm contribute $5 million to EV startup Bounce

Electric mobility startup Bounce has raised $5 million in an internal funding round from existing investors including Accel, B Capital and Qualcomm Ventures, founder Vivekananda Hallekere said.

An internal funding round means current investors provide additional capital without bringing in new investors. Bounce plans to use the funds mainly as margin capital to secure financing for expanding its scooter fleet.

The company manufactures electric scooters and rents them to gig workers in cities such as Bengaluru and Delhi NCR. It currently operates around 10,000 scooters on the road.

Hallekere said being a manufacturer gives the company greater control over operations and costs. According to him, supply chain insights and operational feedback directly help improve vehicle design and maintenance.

Bounce originally started as Wicked Ride, a service that rented high-end motorcycles. However, the business was heavily affected during the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing the company to reduce operations, sell most of its fleet and lay off employees.

After the pandemic, the company shifted to app-based scooter rentals and rebranded itself as Bounce. It later moved into electric vehicle manufacturing to strengthen its business model.

In 2021, Bounce acquired a 100% stake in 22Motors, an electric vehicle startup based in Gurugram, in a deal valued at around $5 million.

Before the latest funding round, Bounce had raised about $227 million from investors including Peak XV Partners, Chiratae Ventures, Falcon Edge Capital, Omidyar Network and Maverick Capital, according to data from Tracxn.

For the financial year ending March 2025, Bounce reported revenue of ₹64.2 crore, down from ₹88.7 crore in the previous year. However, its net loss narrowed to ₹28.6 crore from ₹79.4 crore, indicating improved cost control.