Zag Daily

Lime has partnered with Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, Limited (MSI) to grow and promote the safe use of shared e-scooters in Japan. The partnership is made up of five key initiatives: providing insurance to riders, holding safety seminars, creating e-scooter guidebooks, developing port installation, and regional development using MSI’s network with local governments. "This partnership with MSI is a major step for Lime's presence in Tokyo, as it serves to validate our service and the future of micromobility in Japan,” Lime’s Country Manager and Head of Asia Pacific Terry Tsai told Zag Daily. “Together with MSI, we'll work to further introduce riders to e-scooters and help this mode grow as a sustainable, convenient and safe transport option. The focus on safety is key as we work to earn the trust of Japanese riders and cities over the long-term.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/eAGVNbaq

INTERVIEW: Zag speaks with SkeyDrone’s Nele Coghe about their latest Drone Detection Report covering 75% of the Belgian coastline. “In total, we recorded over 1,100 drone flights. We collected this data over July and August…On average, the drone flights were rather short, lasting four minutes. We also analysed the types of drones that were used, and almost 75% were DJI Minis. The average height for a drone to fly was 218 ft above ground level, nicely below the 400ft limit. However, we did see a number of drones surpass this limit and fly higher than what’s permitted in the Open category.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/eJ5HEYWZ

In this morning's newsletter we're covering Wunder Mobility's landmark acquisition of rival goUrban, plus an investor charts the five main groups of new mobility investors and Oslo opens its first Mobility Hotel. Sign up for free here: https://lnkd.in/eid8KXUt

Here are 5 investor groups funding new mobility. Bryan, Garnier & Co's Head of Private Capital Markets Julien Polenne maps out the diverse range of investors helping advance the European mobility tech space, spotlighting each group's distinctive investment strategy and notable contributions. He breaks the five investor groups down into Exclusive Mobility Funds, Sustainability & Impact Investors, Generalist Tech Investors, Family Offices and Corporate Venture Capital. “The diverse array of investors in the European mobility tech space showcases a wide range of unique strategies to provide essential capital to companies at every stage of their development.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/esRMEzqR

Martin Vendel introduces Zag Daily to EIT Urban Mobility - Urban Mobility Explained (UMX) - the EU-funded mobility training platform. UMX offers sustainable urban mobility professionals over 50 e-courses, plus an extensive range of hands-on live courses, 175 short videos, and other tailored learning resources to up-skill and re-skill in urban mobility. “We train our students and professionals to become change agents of the system,” Vendel, EIT's Academy Director tells Zag Daily. Learners can explore the transformative impact of autonomous vehicles on cities, implement strategies to reduce the urban heat island effect, discover the truth behind 15-minute cities, and more. The e-courses are free and typically take two to six hours to complete. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eTVgFDkd

UAM infrastructure provider eVertiSKY has acquired Volatus Infrastructure & Energy Solutions to add its dual-use charging technology to its offering. Volatus’ dual-use charging technology, which serves both UAM aircrafts and ground electric vehicles, aims to strengthen eVertiSKY’s platform by providing vertiport developers, aircraft operators, and fleet managers with infrastructure solutions that meet energy demands. “The primary benefit of a dual-use charging system is that it allows for the standardised deployment and maintenance of a single class of hardware, which integrates with the same energy grid and security requirements,” eVertiSKY CEO Sandra F. told Zag Daily. “This streamlines installation and reduces the total cost of ownership for vertiport operators.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/eyqNkcRW

Cowboy raises €5 million as it strives for full-year profitability in 2025. Led by Hong Kong-based Cypress Capital, Cowboy’s first Asian investor, the funds will be used to enhance its product offerings, improve its supply chain efficiency, and expand its customer service capabilities. “The priority right now is to be in charge of our own destiny as we seek to achieve full year profitability in 2025 and then continue to grow from that platform,” Cowboy Co-Founder and CEO Adrien Roose told Zag Daily. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eieP3w-Y

Exclusive: German SaaS platform Wunder Mobility acquires rival goUrban taking the number of trips it handles to 50 million per year across 200 cities globally. GoUrban's investors and founders have sold 100% of their shares to Wunder Mobility for an undisclosed fee. Wunder Mobility is now the largest independent free-floating and station-based micromobility and car-sharing platform. The platform powers notable mobility brands like Forest, the fastest-growing e-bike sharing company in London, and GreenMobility A/S, the largest EV car-sharing firm in the Nordics, while GoUrban manages the bike-sharing scheme JOCO in New York City and others. “While Wunder Mobility was the leading tech platform for free-floating micromobility, GoUrban had invested more heavily into pre-booked and station-based use cases around systems combining cars and micromobility. Going forward, we can enable our clients to effortlessly expand into all these use cases,” the CEO and Founder Gunnar Froh told Zag Daily. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eaeqQerW

Zag speaks with Brandon Schuh about his mobility focused insurance podcast dubbed RiskCellar & why battery fires are becoming a huge talking point in insurance circles. Brandon is the Senior Vice President at U.S. Broker Christensen Group Insurance. “Our show is unique – there’s no other mobility focused insurance podcast of this nature anywhere around the world,” Schuh says. The duo launched the first episode in January 2024. Less than a year on and they’ve stacked up 25 episodes, secured Ascend as a sponsor and average 3,500 listeners per week. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ePC3vRug

Archer Aviation completes 402 test flights this year, surpassing its 400-flight goal four months ahead of schedule. The eVTOL manufacturer has used the data produced from each flight to evaluate metrics such as aircraft loads, vibrations, performance, and handling qualities. "It took a lot of early mornings and late nights,” Archer CEO and Co-Founder Adam Goldstein told Zag Daily. “We surpassed this milestone four months ahead of schedule thanks to the hard work of the flight test team and their supporting groups.” “The biggest lesson we learned over these 400+ flights was identifying deltas in flight test data compared to aerodynamic models in the transition phase of flight—that’s the benefit of real-world testing,” Archer Flight Test Director Casey Johnson said. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eRHbdrsn