Helbiz, Inc. is an Italian-American intra-urban transportation company headquartered in New York City with an aim to solve the first mile/last mile transportation problem of high-traffic urban areas around the world. Helbiz was founded on 16 October 2015 by Italian serial entrepreneur, Salvatore Palella and is the first company to introduce the shared electric scooter model in Italy as early as October 2018 through legalization and regulation of the electric scooters in Italy.
Operations
The Helbiz team acts as an intermediary between peers that use the app by monitoring the vehicles throughout the day and collecting them in the night.
IPO and funding
Helbiz announced the intention to file a dual list Initial Public Offering on NASDAQ and on the Borsa Italiana AIM Italia exchange. In August 2019, Helbiz announced it has completed the initial investment round for gross proceeds of approximately $7.13 million. TriPoint Global Equities, LLC was the placement agent. in October 2019, Forever Sharing, a China-based leader in the production of electric smart mobility vehicles and a subsidiary of the Zhonglu Group, has acquired 5% of the share capital of Helbiz, investing 8 million dollars in the company. The investment values Helbiz at 160 million dollars. As a result of the partnership, Forever Sharing will supply Helbiz with 20,000 electric bicycles and e-scooters by the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020 to deploy globally. Subject to NASDAQ requirements, the Company plans to list under the symbol “HLBZ”. Helbiz intends to use the proceeds from the offering for expansion of the Company's fleet of scooters, new territory deployment and working capital.
Partnerships and events
In January 2019, a new joint venture between Helbiz and Telepass formed, allowing riders to rent and pay HELBIZ's e-scooters directly on Telepass Pay. The Telepass Mobile App allows users to pay for parking, fuel and other mobility costs. In February 2019, Helbiz partnered with Matchless to launch a runway show with electric scooters, promoting eco-friendly products and services. In March 2019, Helbiz partnered with Moovit, a Mobility as a service app that aggregates public transportation services of cities, The partnership is aimed to integrate Helbiz electric scooters into the existing public transportation network. In July 2019, Helbiz participated in the New York City E-Prix racing event in Red Hook, Brooklyn for the finale of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. At the end of the event Helbiz offered New Yorkers the chance to ride its electric scooters on the racing track on the “New Yorkers on Track” experience. Helbiz partnered with Ehang UAV to establish an aerial ridesharing network of 2 passenger drones. This Helbiz service partnered with the governor of Antigua and Barbuda to operate a pilot program of drone taxis on the Caribbean islands. In September 2019, Helbiz presents the e-bike "Greta", in homage to the young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. It was presented on the "Green Carpet" of the final ceremony of the Milan Fashion Week. The latest generation assisted bicycle has a 250 W motor and a 14 AH battery to guarantee a range of up to 80 km with a full load and a maximum speed of 25 km / h. In the frame, reinforced in steel, there is also a GPS system that allows the location and subsequent unlocking of the units through the mobile application, similar to what already happens with scooters. In May 2020, Helbiz launched Helbiz Unlimited, a subscription service that offers unlimited 30-minute trips on its e-bikes and e-scooters, as one of the post-COVID-19 initiative. This service was partnered with the Italian government’s COVID-19 Task Force.
