Tier takes over wind mobility subsidiary and launches in Italy

It is the company's third takeover this year - and the eighteenth country in which it is active.

The Berlin-based start-up Tier is taking over Wind Mobility's Italian subsidiary Vento Mobility Srl. It is unclear how much money Tier had to put on the table for this. The company, which describes itself as Europe's leading provider of shared micro-mobility solutions, is thus entering the Italian market. The first e-scooters from Tier will be available "immediately" in the cities of Bari and Palermo, according to the company. Other Italian cities are to be added in the coming days and weeks, including the country's larger metropolitan areas. More than 1,000 employees of the Wind subsidiary now work for Tier.

Following the acquisitions of The Makery and Nextbike, the Vento purchase is Tier's third takeover this year. Apparently, the start-up is now increasingly focusing on Italy: Nextbike is also to provide 400 bikes and 20 e-bikes at 63 stations in the city of Bergamo from January. These are to be operated on behalf of the public transport company ATB.

Tier wants to support cities on their way to an emission-free future, says Lawrence Leuschner, CEO and co-founder of the company. Saverio Galardi is the former Country Manager for Italy at Wind - and is now the new General Manager for Italy at Tier. He is convinced of the potential of his location: "Italy is an exciting growth market for shared micromobility services and has great potential to grow even further in the coming years."

Tier is now represented in more than 165 cities in 18 countries. The company states that it intends to expand further in 2022. Since this year, it has been operating e-bikes and e-mopeds in several European countries in addition to e-scooters. In October, Tier also announced the first closing of a series D financing round amounting to 200 million US dollars. The company describes itself as the best-funded micromobility company in Europe. Tier is valued at two billion US dollars and has raised 660 million US dollars in equity and debt capital to date.