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Bounce – How The Bike Rental Startup Is Changing The Way We Commute

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Bounce,Bike Rental Startup,Startup Stories,Bike Rental Bounce,Bike rental startup Bounce,Bounce Bike Rental,How to use Bounce Bikes,Bounce Bike offers,Bounce Founder,Bounce Startup History,Bounce Bike Latest News,Growth of Bounce Bike

Indian metropolitan cities see a huge influx of graduates and working individuals due to India’s IT and startup boom.  As more and more people keep coming, traffic congestion is becoming a major cause for concern, giving endless nightmares to commuters trying to go to their offices and get back home.  All this makes owning a four wheeler a hassle, owing to endless traffic snarls. Bounce, a startup based out of Bengaluru, Karnataka, is slowly trying to change how we commute every day.  Bounce offers bike rentals with the aim of cutting down commute time.

The beginning

Bounce was founded by Vivekananda HR, Varun Agni and Anil G., who initially founded Wicked Ride, a premium bike rental service.  The idea took seed when Anil placed an order for a Royal Enfield bike and found out there was a waiting time of 12 months for the bike to be delivered.  This got him thinking and a realization dawned upon him—renting a bike is cheaper and more hassle free compared to the waiting time for all high end or luxury rides.  This slowly led to the establishment of the company Bounce we know today.

Growth of Bounce

With the advent of the Metro Rail infrastructure, the founders realised first and last mile connectivity was going to be a problem and they set out to address this.  They brainstormed various modes like cars, cycles and two wheelers and eventually finalised two wheelers. Using the revenue generated from Wicked Ride, they assembled a fleet of twenty scooters and began operating from the Baiyappanahalli Metro Station in Bengaluru.  The initial operating model was they used to hand over the keys of the bike and obtain proper signed documents from the customers. They had a team at another location to collect the bikes and their keys.

However, after realising they need to scale up and it could be achieved by integrating technology with the operating model, they decided to develop an app which worked using the Internet of Things (IoT.)  This was when Varun developed software and hardware which could be integrated in the vehicles, making them capable of being operated without keys. This meant users could unlock the bike with just their mobile, using the Bluetooth and data on their devices.

To take the ease of use even further, they started offering two  options of renting bikes from which the customers could choose one.  The first is the dockless model, which lets the user pick up the bike closest to them and use it.  This can be used for first and last mile connectivity or short trips. The user can later leave the bike at the point of their destination for the next user to use.  The other option is hourly rentals, which lets the user rent bikes when they have longer trips.

The founders are looking into electric vehicles to further bring down the cost per kilometer for users.  Bounce is rapidly gaining a user base in the metro cities, thanks to the nature of its simple and easy to use system.  Regular commuters are now slowly beginning to accept the use of Bounce bikes to bring down their commute time, especially during peak hours when the roads are congested due to the massive presence of four wheelers.

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Funding

Info Edge Delivers 36% Returns on Startup Investments

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Infoedge

Info Edge, the parent of Naukri.com, has achieved a 36% gross internal rate of return (IRR) on its startup investments since 2007, turning a total investment of INR 3,959 crore across 111 startups into a portfolio now valued at INR 36,855 crore-a nearly 9X gain. Early bets on Zomato and Policybazaar have been especially lucrative, with holdings in these two companies alone worth INR 31,500 crore as of March 2025.

The company’s investment strategy spans multiple vehicles, including the SEBI-registered Info Edge Venture Fund (IEVF), Info Edge Capital, and Capital 2B, with a combined fund corpus of INR 3,423 crore and Info Edge committing INR 1,614 crore. Early-stage investments now contribute 30-40% of the company’s overall value.

Info Edge’s Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) investments have yielded an IRR of 18.7%. Many portfolio companies, such as TrueMeds, Geniemode, Attentive.ai, and InPrime, have attracted follow-on funding from major investors like Accel, Peak XV Partners, and Tiger Global. Notably, BlueStone, the largest investment of Info Edge Capital, has filed for an IPO after securing investments from Prosus, Peak XV, and Steadview Capital.

Founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani emphasized the company’s focus on strong governance and financial controls, with a preference for value realization through public listings or strategic exits.

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Entrepreneur Stories

PixelSky Capital Unveils INR 400 Crore Secondaries Fund

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Startup Stories

Bengaluru-based investment bank IndigoEdge, in partnership with entrepreneur Hitesh Ahuja, has launched PixelSky Capital, a secondaries fund targeting INR 400 crore. The fund will invest in eight late-stage tech and consumer companies expected to go public within three to four years, with cheque sizes of INR 40–50 crore each. PixelSky has already invested in beauty retailer Purplle and aims to close a second deal by June 2025.

 

The fund focuses on secondary transactions, allowing existing shareholders to sell stakes to new investors, providing liquidity ahead of IPOs. Founders have committed INR 10–15 crore, with additional capital coming from domestic family offices and startup founders. Final close is expected by March 2026.

 

Led by Hitesh Ahuja, who sold his foodtech startup Yumlane in 2023, and IndigoEdge cofounder Zerin Rahiman, PixelSky marks IndigoEdge’s expansion from advisory and proprietary investments into fund management. The firm has facilitated over 150 transactions worth around $3 billion and invested INR 25–30 crore as a limited partner in multiple VC funds. PixelSky is currently evaluating about 20 companies before finalizing its portfolio

 

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Meta’s Upcoming AR Glasses: A Sneak Peek

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Meta is developing its first true AR glasses, set to launch in 2027. Before the public release, employees will test the device starting in 2024. The company is also releasing new generations of Ray-Ban smart glasses in 2023 and 2025 with enhanced features like a “viewfinder” display.

Specifications and Features

The AR glasses are expected to feature OLED displays and Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets, offering sophisticated AR and AI capabilities. They will enable users to interact with virtual objects and project high-quality holograms of avatars onto the real world.

Design and Competition

Meta aims for a sleek design, potentially building on its Ray-Ban partnerships. The AR glasses market is competitive, with Apple and Google also investing heavily. Meta seeks to make its AR glasses a game-changer by offering a unique user experience.

Future Plans

In addition to AR glasses, Meta is expanding its VR offerings with new headsets like the Quest 3 and exploring other wearable technologies. The company is focused on reducing costs to make the AR glasses more consumer-friendly by launch.

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