State of European

Mobility Startups
2023

January 2024
 Leading innovation ecosystem for mobility entrepreneurs Global startup & venture capital intelligence platform.

Via ID
Via ID is the investment fund and the business accelerator of startups in new mobility and Dealroom.co is a global intelligence platform for discovering and tracking
autotech of Mobivia (Norauto, Midas...). Thanks to its hybrid positioning as an investor, an the most promising companies, technologies and ecosystems. Clients
ecosystem and a startup studio, Via ID provides long-term support to the most innovative include many of the worldʼs foremost organizations such as Sequoia, Accel,
startups in the field of sustainable mobility to make them European leaders. Index Ventures, McKinsey, BCG, Deloitte, Google, AWS, Microsoft, Stripe.

Today Via ID has a portfolio of 21 startups (including Beev, BlaBlacar Daily, Fifteen, Heetch, Dealroom partners closely with local tech ecosystem development agencies
Trusk, VelyVelo…), teams in Lille, Paris and Munich and 3 major initiatives: the Moove Lab, and enablers, to create a comprehensive multi-dimensional blueprint of the
the European Startup Prize for Mobility and the Mobility Club. tech ecosystem, including capital, talent, innovation, entrepreneurship and
overall economic dynamism.

Mobility Club
The Mobility Club by Via ID is an acceleration platform for mobility players (corporates,
enterprises, scale-ups, investors). The Mobility Club supports its members in their
innovation strategies, and help them to understand key mobility trends, and the resulting
opportunities for them. Its value proposition is built around 3 main pillars: inspiration,
matchmaking, acceleration. It gathers global players such as Groupe ADP, Hyundai Motor
Group, Hutchinson, Groupe IMA, Banque des Territoires, TomTom…

Page / 2 Source:
 What happened in mobility in 2023.

VC investment in European mobility EV battery and charging makes up the Corporates are taking up more and
startups amounted to $9B in 2023, a majority of Mobility funding. more space in the sector
26% drop from last year.
Infrastructure-intensive EV battery and charging Corporate funding in European mobility startups has
While late-stage funding has considerably dropped, accounted for over half of mobility funding in 2023. continuously grown over the past years. Notably, in
the face of this year's challenging funding
early-stage rounds have shown stronger resilience Looking at the rest of mobility we see a notable drop
environment, corporate investment has proven
notably in Series A funding rounds. in 2023. resilient, now constituting nearly as much as VC
funding.
In comparison with other industries, Mobility ranks European EV funding is dominated by EV batteries
third most funded in Europe and exhibits less decline having grown 25% compared to 2022, though largely In exits, Corporates have been extremely active as
than the European average, though this is mainly driven attributable to mega rounds by Northvolt and Verkor. well. Driven by tougher market conditions, M&As are
by large rounds in EV Battery and EV charging. at an all time high. Corporates have stepped in and
participated in major acquisitions, marking the
sectorʼs consolidation.

Dealroom.co
Page / 3 Source:
*Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom. For details see methodology and definition.
 1 | Value and Venture Capital

Page / 4 Source:
 VC investment in VC investment in European mobility startups
European mobility
startups amounted to $9B
in 2023, a 26% drop from
the previous year.

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 8th 2024.

Page / 5 Source: *Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom.
For details see methodology and definition.
 Path from Seed to Series A

Series A Selected early stage rounds of 2023

Seed

In Seed stage, just over $400M was invested this In Series A, over $900M was invested this year, $10.9M Series A
year, a 20% drop overall compared to 2022. nearly matching 2022 levels. Netherlands Mar 2023

$10.8M Series A
UK Feb 2023

$6.3M Series A
UK Nov 2023

$3M Early VC
France Nov 2023

$2.7M Seed
Germany May 2023

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 8th 2024.

Page / 6 Source: *Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom. For details see methodology and definition.
The number and amount of early-stage rounds, especially pre-seed rounds, is projected to increase due to reporting lag for up to 12 months.
 Infrastructure-intensive EV battery and charging accounted
Top rounds rest of mobility in 2023
for over half of mobility funding in 2023. Looking at the rest
of mobility we see a notable drop in 2023. $508M Series A - Sep 2023
England

VC investment in European mobility startups by segment $190M Growth equity VC - Jun 2023
England

$140m Series C - Jan 2023

England

$125M Early VC - Sep 2023

Spain

$82M Late VC - Jun 2023

Austria

Top rounds in EV battery and EV charging in 2023

$4B $1.4B Convertible - Aug & Sep 2023

Sweden

$111M Growth equity VC - Sep 2023

England

$4B $926M Series C - Sep 2023

$5B France

$163M Growth equity VC - May 2023

Germany

$163M Late VC & Convertible -

Norway May & Sep 2023

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 8th 2024.

Page / 7 Source:
*Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom. For details see methodology and definition.
 Mobility ranks #3 in top Top 10 industries by VC funding
» view online
funded European
VC investment in 2023 Change in VC (2022-2023)
industries in 2023,
despite a 26% decline
compared to the
previous year.
When EV charging and battery are not
considered, Mobility falls to 7th position with
less than half as much funding and almost
twice as much decline.

$3B

$4B

Average European VC funding -37%

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 8th 2024.

Page / 8 Source: *Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom.
For details see methodology and definition.
 When looking beyond EV
battery and EV charging,
VC funding of Mobility (excl. EV Charging and Battery) by business model
SaaS & Manufacturing are
now dominating, whilst
Marketplace dropped to its
lowest share in over a
decade.

Marketplace & eCommerce sector dominated

mobility funding from 2012 to 2021, but now
constitutes the smallest share of the funding pie.
This is driven by the rise and “fall” of many
mobility segments (e.g. car sharing/hailing,
micro-mobility operators, online car
marketplaces).

SaaS shares the top spot for the first time, though
largely driven by large rounds in autonomous
mobility for industrial and commercial vehicles.

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 8th 2024.

Page / 9 Source:
*Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom. For details see methodology and definition.
 Over the past decade, the funding allocated to
B2B startups in the mobility industry has more
than doubled. “ Navigating the mobility landscape, B2C is no
easy ride (challenges in shared mobility and
quick commerce, among others) and funding
hurdles loom large.
VC funding of Mobility by client focus

However, in the B2B space, the

supply/demand dynamics are better,
so VC opportunities thrive. The
compelling drive to decarbonize
operations (especially since the CSR
Directive) fuels a demand surge from
corporates for cleaner and
sustainability-related mobility
solutions."
Vincent Cabanel
Dealflow & Startup Acceleration Manager
at Via ID

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 8th 2024. Source quote: Via ID

Page / 10 Source:
*Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom. For details see methodology and definition.
 Corporate investors in European mobility startups slightly slowed their investments in 2023
but showed stronger resilience than Venture Capitals. EV still makes up most of their top bets.

Corporate funding in European mobility startups Notable rounds with corporate investors
» view online

$3.6B

$2.6B

$2.8B

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 8th 2024.

Page / 11 Source: *Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom. For details see methodology and definition.
** Other investors refers to Private Equities, Asset Managers, etc.
 Corporate investors
have somewhat Number of rounds in mobility per corporate investor segment
sustained their
involvement in
European Mobility
companies.

Finance & Insurance and Vehicle Production

corporates are the most active in the space.

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 8th 2024.

Finance & Insurance: Private Equity, Investment Banks, Insurance companies and other financial
institutions. Vehicle Production: OEMs & Tier 1 Suppliers. Other mobility: Public transportation or other
Page / 12 Source: modes of transportation (e.g. aviation, maritime, urban mobility).
*Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom. For details see methodology and definition.
 Deep Dive: Siemensʼ investment in
supercapacitor manufacturer Skeleton In October, the two companies agreed to a strategic partnership. Siemens
Technologies. financed part of a €108M1 equity and debt round for Skeleton, intended to
support the development and manufacturing of its battery technology along
with the opening a new factory in Germany.
The new facility, expected to produce 40 times more output than their
current operations, will manufacture twelve million cells annually from
the end of 20242. Siemens is integral to these efficiency improvements, not
only electrifying, automating, and digitizing the factory but also leveraging
economies of scale to anticipate 90%3 lower production costs five years into
the project's completion.

Skeleton marks Siemens' latest venture into energy storage, joining previous
Siemens is a global leader in engineering and electronics, present predominantly in investments in industry giants like Sila, Northvolt, and Morrow. Siemens'
the energy, transportation and healthcare sectors. strategic motivations include sustaining its technological leadership in the
industrial and energy sectors and expanding its offerings in emerging
Skeleton is an Estonian supercapacitor manufacturer for energy storage. Its battery technologies for future-proofing. Siemensʼ novel presence into these
named ʻSuperBatteryʼ is made up of the companyʼs proprietary raw material: innovative segments has shown to speed up development of its technologies,
ʻCurved Grapheneʼ which allows high levels of performance, such as extremely fast giving a competitive edge to the firm and more than anything, providing it with
charging, while eliminating reliance on toxic metals. components needed for its broader range of products and services. Beyond
technological advancement, Siemens is drawn to Skeleton's positive image
and the associated environmental benefits. This alignment with sustainability
appeals to a large firm like Siemens, helping it meet corporate responsibilities
and reinforcing a 'sustainable branding' initiative, especially as it actively
supports the global energy transition.

1) Tech.eu
Page / 13 Source: Dealroom.co 2) Electrive
3) Siemens
 M&A is showing all-time-high activity lead by segment consolidation, as well as fire-sales &
bankruptcies. The public market is almost completely closed off.
Selected acquisitions of European Mobility startups in 2023
Number of exits by type » view online
by startup segment
Buyer Target

Vehicle production & Sale

Other mobility

Micro-mobility

Other industries/EV charging

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 8th 2024.

Page / 14 Source:
*Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom. For details see methodology and definition.
 The consolidation started Total number of exits in mobility segments and percentage share per segment
last year in some
segments and has kept
going. Logistics, public
transport & parking are
▊ Logistics
seeing the most M&A 25%

activity.
23%
Notable activity is also seen in
21% ▊ Other (public transport, parking, etc)
EV Battery & charging.
19%

14% ▊ EV Battery & charging

13%

13% ▊ Micromobility (bikes, scooters, etc)

16%
9% ▊ Vehicle Manufacturing
9%
See all 2023 Mobility exits »
▊ Sensors, AV, robotics & navigation
8%
9%
▊ Vehicle Marketplace
8% 8%
3% 2% ▊ Insurance

Dealroom.co
Page / 15 Source: *Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom.
For details see methodology and definition.
 Macro valuations trends
In partnership with Clipperton

Overall, 90% of rounds done by mobility startups are closed at valuations below After two years showing an average valuation of mobility startups €100m,
€100m, exemplifying the fact that reaching the club of companies valued north of 2023 saw a sharp decline at €62m i.e. a drop by an impressive 40%, in line
€100m remains a notable performance. with the overall downward trend in innovation financing across sectors.
This is mainly linked to the absence of mega-financing rounds in 2023
compared to previous years.
The year 2023 showed a sharp decrease in the number of deals in mobility (down by
54% vs. 2022), affecting all valuation categories. If the categories [€10m-€100m] and Interestingly, the median valuation has kept increasing, establishing at
[€100m-€500m] are somehow resisting, down by 20% and 26% respectively, one will €13m (vs. €10m in 2022).
notice the quasi absence of mega-rounds in 2023 with only 1 transaction above
€500m vs. 11 in 2022.

Valuation mix by deal count Average valuation

Lower than €5M €5M-€10M €10M-€100M €100M-€500M €500M-€1,000M €101M €99M

€59M €62M

4
24

2020 2021 2022 2023

Median valuation
€13M
€10M
€7M
€4M

2020 2021 2022 2023 2020 2021 2022 2023

Clipperton
Page / 16 Source: Data as of November 2023
 Valuations trends by stage and business model
In partnership with Clipperton

In 2023, more than half of Seed rounds in mobility were done at a valuation below The analysis by business models clearly shows mixed trends.
€5m, consistent with what was observed in 2022 (60%). Early-stage rounds (mostly Marketplace & ecommerce businesses have witnessed a period of hype in
Series A) were closed at valuations comprised between €10m and €100m, with a 2021 (avg. valuation at €166m), and are now down to €55m in 2023. The
median sitting at €25m. This valuation range still represents respectively 50% and same goes for Manufacturing companies with an average valuation of
42% of the valuations of acceleration and late-stage rounds. €85m in 2023 vs. €159m last year.
On the other end, SaaS businesses showed clear resilience with an
average valuation slightly increasing at €58m vs. €52m in 2022.
Cross analysis between investment stage and valuation level -
2023 - Deal count Average valuation by Business Model
Lower than €5M €5M-€10M €10M-€100M €100M-€500M €500M-€1,000M
Marketplace & ecommerce Manufacturing Saas

5% €166m
12% €159m
25%
€141m
45% 58%
20%
€104m €103m
€95m
71% €85m

€55m €58m
€52m
€47m
55%
50%
42%
€19m
9%
8%
Seed Early stage Acceleration stage Late stage 2020 2021 2022 2023

Clipperton
Page / 17 Source: Data as of November 2023
 Top investors in European Mobility startups (2018-2023):
Most active investors
of 2023.

EIT Urban Mobility remains the top investor in

European Mobility startups.

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 8th 2024.

Page / 18 Source: Note: EIT Urban Mobility began investing in 2020.
*Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom. For details see methodology and definition.
 New European Mobility Unicorns created by year
In 2021, a record high 13 » view online
new unicorns were
minted. In 2023, only one
was created.

Today there are 44 European Mobility Unicorns.

22 unicorns were created in the 2019-2021

period.

9 of the unicorns minted in that period have lost

their unicorn status.

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 8th 2024.

Page / 19 Source:
*Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom. For details see methodology and definition.
 2 | Trend analysis

Page / 20 Source:
 Vehicle production and Maintenance & Aftermarket lead, but mostly driven by EV battery and
EV charging. Beyond that, Autonomous Mobility has attracted the most funding.
European mobility VC funding by sub-industry

Total Without ev battery and charging

Average Mobility drop -26% Average Mobility drop -47%

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 8th 2024.

Page / 21 Source:
*Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom. For details see methodology and definition.
 European electric mobility VC funding slightly dropped compared to 2022, but made up an all
time highest share of total mobility investment at 66%.

VC investment in European Mobility startups (% EV of total investment)

$3.1B

$5.9B

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 8th 2024.

Page / 22 Source:
*Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom. For details see methodology and definition.
 European EV funding is dominated by EV batteries increased by 91% compared to 2022,
though largely attributable to Northvolt and Verkor.
Selected funding rounds in 2023
Electric mobility VC funding by EV segments 2023 (% growth vs 2022)
» view online

$1.2B Convertible

£870M Growth equity VC

£150M Growth equity VC

$44M Series A

$51M Series C

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 8th 2024.

Page / 23 Source:
*Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry.
 The sustainable vehicle lifecycle landscape.

The switch to Electric Mobility is the key sustainable mobility trend,

Production
attracting 66% of mobility funding.
Battery: new battery materials, advanced battery design
Materials & production processes: green production processes (e.g.
But sustainability emcompasses the whole lifecycle; production, life, and end
green steel), bio-based and recycled materials
of life; of the vehicle, with attention to materials, design, circularity and Emission compensation and capture: data driven supply chain & CO2
traceability. tracking, CO2 capture
AI powered engineering
Production tops electric mobility funding with $3.2B invested in 2023, in
fields such as EV battery and electric vehicles manufacturing.
An additional $1.7B has also went into green production process in the past
year (mobility is only one, not the main application of this sector). During Life

During life still attracts the least attention, when excluding EV charging, Battery management systems (BMS)
with just under $90M funnelled into the sector this past year. Green propulsion sources
Smart grid & V2G
Digital twins and predictive maintenance
In End of Life, 2023 saw a strong focus on end of life of batteries with recycling
and second use with $1.3B raised, a 25x increase from the previous year.
End of Life

Battery recycling
Materials recycling
Circular economy platforms

Dealroom.co.
Page / 24 Source:
Landscape inspired by Plug and Play analysis.
 The sustainable vehicle lifecycle landscape.

Production During Life End of Life

CO2 Capture Advanced battery design Battery management systems Circular economy platforms

AI powered engineering New battery materials Green propulsion sources Materials recycling

Green production processes Bio-based and recycled materials Smart grid Battery recycling

Digital twins and predictive

Data driven supply chain & CO2 tracking
maintenance

» Explore the full landscape

Dealroom.co.
Page / 25 Source:
Landscape inspired by Plug and Play analysis.
 Carbon tracking & offset has grown massively in the last few years,
but transportation-specific solutions are just starting to be developed.
Nearly $1B was invested in carbon tracking & offset startups in Europe since VC funding in Carbon tracking & offset startups in Europe
2021, with $396M in 2023 up from just $22M in 2020. » view online

However, only 2% of this funding went to transportation-focused solutions.

Dealroom.co Data as of Jan 8th 2024.

Page / 26 Source:
*Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom. For details see methodology and definition.
 A massive acceleration of fleet electrification is needed and startups are addressing the key
pain points: difficulty to plan the switch and increased operational complexity.

Currently only 1.4% of the total European commercial vehicle fleet is electric The following startups help reduce some of these barriers by
and at the end of last year just 0.8% of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) and 0.1% developing tailored solutions for EV fleet planning charging thus
of trucks operated by commercial fleets were classified as electric. improving operational efficiency:

Nonetheless, sales are growing: between 2016 to 2022, commercial fleet EV

adoption in Europe grew 11x, from 100,000 to more than 1 million vehicles.

Moreover, the pace of electrification must strongly accelerate to meet the

ambitious ʻFit for 55ʼ targets set for 2030, which aim for 55% electrification of
passenger and Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs), and 30% electrification of
trucks and buses.

One of the key barriers to adoption is the increased operational complexity

and the difficulty to plan the transition to EV for fleets. $3B

$4B

Source: Dealroom.co.
Page / 27 Source: *Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom. For details see methodology and definition.
Fleetnews
 In 2023, Autonomous mobility funding came close to the previous yearʼs record high levels,
largely attributable to few but mega rounds.
Selected equity rounds in 2023:
VC investment in European autonomous mobility startups
» view online

Startup Funding round Focus

Industrial and commercial

£400M Series A*
autonomous vehicles

Industrial and commercial

$140M Series C
autonomous vehicles

Augmented Reality Head Up

$100M Series C
Displays

Tele Driving autonomous

$3B €47M Series A
trucking

€15M Early Vc Autonomous shuttles

$4B
High accuracy positioning for
€6M Series A
autonomous driving

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 4th 2024.

Page / 28 Source: *Conigital also raised £100M in debt financing.
*Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom. For details see methodology and definition.
 3 | Geographic insights

Page / 29 Source:
 In 2023, Europe is projected to show similar levels of funding as the US for the first time,
showing much stronger resilience.

VC investment in mobility startup by HQ in USA » view online VC investment in mobility startup by HQ in Europe » view online

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 8th 2024.

Page / 30 Source:
*Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom. For details see methodology and definition
 Europe increased its share of global VC
investment in mobility from 22% to 28% this year.
“ With sustainability and climate challenges at the
heart of the European ecosystem, Europe
maintained its leadership position in global
Europe is also the leading geography at early-stage, attracting 39% of global funding. pre-seed and seed investments in
purpose-driven tech companies in 2023.

European share of global VC funding in mobility Since transportation, battery tech

and mobility manufacturing have
attracted the largest flows of capital
within the sustainability theme, it
comes as no surprise that Europe
emerges also as the global leader in
early-stage mobility investments,
outpacing the US and other regions.”

Theodora Preda
Ventures Director
at Startup Autobahn powered by Plug & Play

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 8th 2024.

Page / 31 Source:
*Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom. For details see methodology and definition.
 Top European countries in Mobility by VC funding in 2023
The UK still leads the
European mobility
industry with $3.2B
raised in 2023.
Few countries have shown positive growth
compared to the previous year.

Norway soared from 11th to 5th place in

funding, growing by 73% between 2022 and
2023 due to few but large growth-stage rounds.

Similarly, Italy jumped from 22th to 10th in

funding due to an increase in ticket sizes
compared to 2022.

Average mobility drop -26%

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 8th 2024.

Page / 32 Source: *Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom.
For details see methodology and definition.
 London and Stockholm Top European cities by Mobility VC funding (& top funded local company in 2023)
remain top hubs in the
mobility sector.

Top cities' dominance is often influenced by a

few major mobility companies and their
funding rounds.

Dealroom.co. Data as of Jan 8th 2024.

Year over year growth computed comparing 2022 and projection of 2023 value at years end.
Page / 33 Source:
*Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom.
For details see methodology and definition.
 European Startup Prize for Mobility:
TOP 50 Startups.

Using a robust methodology developed and orchestrated by Via ID,

over 100 European VCs collaborated to identify Europe's TOP 50
most promising startups. This selection was made from a pool of
over 700 applicants spanning 39 countries.

$725M $100M $3B

VC funding raised since Of which in 2023 In combined Enterprise
2018 Value created

16 1.5K+ 1/3
European countries Employees Of startups with 1+
Woman (Co-)Founder » Explore the full landscape

Dealroom.co & Via ID

Page / 34 Source:
*Mobility refers to the “Transportation” industry in Dealroom. For details see methodology and definition.
 Venture capital methodology and definitions.

Startups, scaleups, grownups Venture capital investment Taxonomy

and tech
Investment numbers refer to rounds such as This report focuses on the Mobility industry.
Companies designed to grow fast. Generally, Seed, Series A, B, C, … late stage, and growth This industry is referred as “Transportation” in
such companies are VC-investable businesses. equity rounds. the Dealroom taxonomy.
Sometimes they can become very big (e.g. $1B+
valuation). Venture capital investment figures exclude debt
The transportation industry is divided into the
or other non-equity funding, lending capital,
This report focuses, unless specified, on following sub-industries: Mobility, Search, Buy
grants and ICOs.
companies in the information age, i.e. after 1990. & Rent, Maintenance & Aftermarket, Navigation
When startups are successful, they develop into Buyouts, M&A, secondary rounds, and IPOs are & Mapping, Autonomous & Sensor Tech, Vehicle
scaleups (>50 people), grownups (>500 people) treated as exits: excluded from funding data. Production, Logistics & Delivery. A precise
and result in big companies, like NorthVolt or definition can be found here.
Arrival. Investment rounds are sourced from public
disclosures including press releases, news, Sub topics like micro mobility and EV battery
A unicorn is defined as a rapidly scaling company filings and verified user-submitted information. are represented by tags in the platform. These
(and tech enabled) that has reached a $1 billion Reporting lag up to 12 months may slightly topics can be under one single industry/sub
valuation, on the basis of a funding round affect statistics at early-stage, especially industry or across multiple of them.
(unrealised), acquisition or IPO (realised). pre-seed rounds.

Page / 35 Source: Dealroom.co