Hamburg-based MobilityFund accelerates global expansion with new California office

Hamburg-based MobilityFund, an investor that focuses on the emerging mobility sector, announced its expansion into the global market with the opening of its new office in California.

With this new office in Southern California, MobilityFund now has over 20 partners in its leadership team spread across different countries like Germany, Hong Kong, Portugal, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Chile.

The company has onboarded several industry experts to its expanded team, including Horace Dediu, known for coining the term “micromobility”; Tatiana Quiros, co-founder of Toyota Kinto in Costa Rica and a transport expert with the World Bank; Mark Joseph, former CEO of Transdev; and Gabriel Scheer, a founding member of Lime and now director of innovation at Elemental Accelerator.

This expanded team is focused on guiding investments from MobilityFund’s latest fund, which has already invested in six startups, including Colonia and Flowfox. 

 MobilityFund is now also offering advisory services, which have already benefited various clients, such as major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), top-tier suppliers, dealership groups, energy companies, and financial organisations interested in future mobility trends.

MobilityFund’s efforts involve securing advanced technologies, assisting with market strategies and making strategic investments. Notable collaborators include energy and transportation giants like Kaufmann, Peter Vardy, Purdy Group, Galp, Holman, and Massy.

“Our global team and expanded coverage in mobility has made us an attractive partner for global businesses with a stake in the future of mobility and energy,” says Sam Baker, managing partner of MobilityFund.

MobilityFund’s strategic investments in the mobility landscape

MobilityFund is a key player in driving innovation in the mobility industry. By investing in future-focused ventures and collaborating with renowned brands, MobilityFund guides acquisitions and launching startup accelerators.

In July, the venture capital firm invested in Hamburg-based startup Flowfox as part of a 7-figure Pre-A funding round. Flowfox’s mission to streamline the global container release process aligns with MobilityFund’s commitment to seamless mobility through technology.

MobilityFund sees an opportunity in the ocean carrier industry where digitalisation and communication are lacking and still relying on manual processes. MobilityFund is addressing this gap by investing in Flowfox’s automation to make operations smoother, reduce mistakes, and offer real-time data.

In addition, MobilityFund also invested in a digital sharing platform Colonia during the startup’s €6M seed round in June. 

Colonia’s ambition is to become the ‘Airbnb of the truck market’ by separating vehicle use from ownership. This allows unused vehicles to be rented out temporarily, turning expenses into earnings.

Colonia employs a business-to-business (B2B) sharing approach to put this into action. This approach empowers logistics firms to cooperate within a secure marketplace, supported by easy-to-use fleet management software, leading to improved operational efficiency.