$2.4 billion scooter startup Lime is raising more money, and its next check could come from SoftBank
- $2.4 billion scooter and bicycle startup Lime is raising another round of funding just months after announcing its $300 million Series D, according to two people familiar with the matter.
- The fundraising round is in the early stages, and nothing is set, but the company could raise as much as $500 million, the people said.
- The Japanese super fund SoftBank is among the possible investors, the people said.
- Read more stories from Business Insider Prime here.
Lime, the $2.4 billion scooter and bicycle startup, is raising another mega funding round, just months after announcing its $300 million Series D, according to people familiar with the matter.
The two-year-old company, whose green and white electric scooters can be found on public sidewalks from Oakland to Auckland, could raise as much $500 million, the people said.
The company has spoken with multiple possible investors, including the deep-pocketed SoftBank Vision Fund, they said.
The people cautioned that since Lime is in the early stages of fundraising, the final amount it's seeking to raise could shift down the road.
Representatives for Lime and SoftBank did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The race for cash continues as Lime fights for market share against Bird, its biggest competitor in the space.
Like Lime, Bird has taken hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital since it launched in 2017. Bird is in talks to raise a new round led by Sequoia Capital, which would value the company at $2.5 billion, according to the New York Times.
SoftBank previously met with both Bird and Lime about fundraising, Bloomberg reported in October.
Lime announced its $300 million Series D in February, with backing by Bain Capital Ventures, Alphabet's GV, IVP, and Andreessen Horowitz.