All things come to those who wait. Founded in 2017 by Paul-Adrien Cormerais and Clara Vessel, Pony has distinguished itself from the outset in a market where competition is fierce, facing international players such as Bird, Lime, and Dott. Its unique values today allow it to demonstrate a disruptive trajectory and to bring capital Blast.ClubADEME Investissement, Colam Impact, La Poste Ventures (operated by XAnge), Smart Lenders Asset Management. These five new investors join the historical Xplore by Épopée Gestion, DEMETER and NACO on the occasion of a series B of 23 million euros.
A sustainable strategy focused on quality and local integration
Unlike its competitors, Pony is not betting on rapid hypergrowth on an international scale. The company is focusing on the French market, integrating the cultural and regulatory specificities of each city.This approach helps avoid the mistakes of overexpansion made by other players in the sector, who invest massively in costly infrastructure that is sometimes poorly adapted to local needs,” explains Paul-Adrien Cormerais.
But that’s not the only thing that makes the Angevine original. The startup designs and manufactures its own bikes. longtail designed to be robust and suitable for shared use. “This model of cargo bikes two-seater is the only one of its type available in self-service in the world”, recalls Paul-Adrien Cormerais.
Furthermore, keen to be the best student in the micromobility class, the company strives to integrate with the public transport infrastructure and parking regulations in force in each city where it operates. This allows for effective synergies with local authorities, thus avoiding the disorder observed in some cities where poorly regulated fleets of electric scooters have sparked controversy.
A strategic debt
After a first seed round in 2019 and a series A in 2022 which raised 9 million euros, Pony has just closed a series B to the tune of 23 million euros.13 million in equity and 10 million in asset-backed debt. This type of asset-backed financing, often reserved for mature infrastructure projects, is unprecedented on this scale for a shared mobility company in France. It allows Pony to consider deploying massive fleets of vehicles without having to worry excessively about their financing. This fundraising is also a strong sign of the startup’s rapid and controlled growth,” rejoices the co-founder.
This nice sum should allow it to strengthen its operational capacities and meet growing demand. Currently being deployed in 21 cities, the company aims to offer more than 30,000 longtails and shared scooters in 40 cities by 2027, while achieving financial balance by 2025.
Validated by the leaders
Two major players notably joined Pony’s capital during this fundraising: La Poste Venture and ADEME Investissement. These strategic partnerships not only strengthen Pony’s legitimacy in the field of sustainable mobility, but also bring crucial operational synergies.
“ADEME, as the regulator of sustainable mobility issues and the armed wing of the Ministry of the Environment, thus validates Pony’s strategy, which favors a slow and thoughtful approach, unlike some competitors who have opted for rapid and poorly controlled expansion. ADEME’s entry into the capital symbolizes official recognition of Pony’s pioneering role in the transformation of the micromobility sector. La Poste, for its part, represents a major logistical asset. Thanks to its national network and its fleet of electric bicycles, La Poste will allow Pony to optimize its vehicle charging operations, in particular by replacing batteries, a costly and time-consuming process. This partnership will also allow Pony to expand into less-served areas, by relying on La Poste’s existing infrastructure,” rejoices the co-founder.
Thanks to this new funding and strategic partnerships, everything suggests that Pony is on its way to becoming a key player in sustainable mobility in France.
