Skip Scooters is a technology company.
Skip Scooters has raised $31.0M across 2 funding rounds.
Skip Scooters has raised $31.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Skip Scooters has raised $31.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Skip Scooters's investors include A Capital, Album VC, C2 Investment, Craft Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Gradient Ventures, Hack VC, Innovation Endeavors, Liquid 2 Ventures, Magnetic Ventures, Menlo Ventures, OurCrowd.
# Skip Scooters: A Technology Company in Micromobility
Skip Scooters is a micromobility technology company that designs and operates shared electric scooter networks for last-mile urban transportation.[1][2] The company builds a complete ecosystem—custom vehicle hardware, fleet management software, and ground operations—to provide dockless scooter-sharing services in American cities.[2][5]
Skip's mission centers on making mobility accessible and energizing cities through sustainable shared electric vehicles.[5] The company serves urban commuters and casual riders seeking convenient, short-distance transportation alternatives. By combining hardware innovation with software-defined fleet management, Skip addresses the "last mile" problem: how people move between transit hubs and their final destinations.
Skip was founded in December 2017 (initially as Waybots) by Matt Tran, Mike Wadhera, and Sanjay Dastoor during Y Combinator's winter 2018 class.[1] The founders brought deep expertise in electric vehicle design—they were the creators of Boosted Board, a pioneering portable electric skateboard that used modern EV motor and battery systems.[2]
The company launched its first pilot program in Washington, D.C. in February 2018, then expanded to San Francisco in August 2018 after receiving operating permission.[1] Early traction was strong: Skip raised $6 million in seed funding (May 2018) and $25 million in Series A funding (June 2018), backed by prominent investors including Y Combinator, Accel, Menlo Ventures, and Initialized Capital.[1][2]
However, the company faced significant challenges. In October 2019, San Francisco's Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) suspended Skip's operating permit due to battery fire hazards, effectively removing the company from its largest market.[1] Skip was acquired by competitor Helbiz in December 2020 and subsequently filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy (dissolution) in August 2021.[1]
Skip distinguished itself through several key innovations:
Skip emerged during the explosive growth of the micromobility sector (2017–2019), when venture capital flooded into last-mile transportation startups. The company rode the wave of urbanization, environmental consciousness, and demand for alternatives to car ownership.
Skip's emphasis on regulatory compliance and city partnerships was prescient—it anticipated that sustainable growth required working *with* municipalities rather than against them. This approach contrasted sharply with competitors like Bird and Lime, which often faced legal battles and operating bans.
The company's hardware-software integration strategy—designing custom vehicles alongside proprietary fleet management systems—reflected a broader tech trend: vertical integration and end-to-end platform control. Skip's engineering talent (recruiting roboticists from Google, partnering with Arc'teryx on wearable technology) positioned it as a serious hardware-software player, not merely a logistics company.
Skip's trajectory illustrates both the promise and peril of the micromobility boom. The company had the right founders, strong funding, innovative products, and a collaborative regulatory strategy—yet it still failed to survive the sector's consolidation and safety challenges.
Had Skip navigated the battery safety issues and San Francisco's permit suspension differently, it might have become a category leader. Instead, its 2020 acquisition by Helbiz and 2021 bankruptcy reflect the harsh reality that even well-capitalized, well-executed startups can be undone by product safety crises and regulatory headwinds.
For investors and entrepreneurs, Skip's story underscores that in regulated industries like transportation, regulatory relationships matter as much as product innovation. The company's forward-thinking approach to city partnerships was sound strategy—but it proved insufficient when hardware reliability became the limiting factor.
Skip Scooters has raised $31.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $25.0M Series A in June 2018.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 2018 | $25.0M Series A | A Capital, Album VC, C2 Investment, Craft Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Gradient Ventures, Hack VC, Innovation Endeavors, Liquid 2 Ventures, Magnetic Ventures, Menlo Ventures, OurCrowd, Pareto Holdings, Pelion Venture Partners, Rose Tech Ventures, SOSV, TSVC Capital, UpHonest Capital, Matt Garratt, Y Combinator, Dmitry Dakhnovsky, Esther Dyson, Marty Weiss, Ronny Conway | |
| May 1, 2018 | $6.0M Seed | A Capital, Album VC, Craft Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Gradient Ventures, Hack VC, Innovation Endeavors, Liquid 2 Ventures, Magnetic Ventures, Pareto Holdings, Pelion Venture Partners, TSVC Capital, UpHonest Capital, Matt Garratt, Y Combinator, Dmitry Dakhnovsky, Ronny Conway |