Superpedestrian to shut down US ops, EU arm explores sale

In an article by TechCrunch, E-scooter startup Superpedestrian, founded by Assaf Biderman, celebrated for its self-diagnostic software, is closing down its US operations as of December 31, and potentially selling its European business.

• Closure Confirmation: Alexander Berg, the company’s director of U.S. operations, confirmed the shutdown during a team Zoom call. The financial circumstances were cited as the primary reasoning behind the decision, though no further information was provided.

• Investor Support: The closure comes just 18 months following a $125M Series C funding round from investors such as Jeffries, Antara Capital, the Sony Innovation Fund by IGV, and FM Capital, plus existing backers like Spark Capital, General Catalyst, and Citi via the Citi Impact Fund.

• Patent Collateral: Jeffries and Antara appear to have offered financial support, with Superpedestrian assigning patents to each as collateral for undisclosed loan amounts in July and October.

• Industry Instability: The e-scooter industry has witnessed turbulence, exemplified by Bird's crashing valuation after going public. Superpedestrian has undergone several layoffs, including one just months after closing its Series C round.

• Global Presence: Superpedestrian has claimed operations in over 60 cities across 11 countries, though it withdrew from Chicago due to competitive difficulties.

• Technology Differentiation: The company set itself apart from competitors like Bird and Tier by employing diagnostic and safety software.

In July 2021, Superpedestrian acquired Navmatic to boost its tech capabilities and developed a pedestrian defense safety system. The company had plans to launch new scooters with its Pedestrian Defense technology in 25 cities across the US and Europe in 2022.