What some investors have already predicted at the end of 2022 is now happening: Due to the completely changed financing situation for startups and scale-ups, more and more prominent names in the scene are now being hit. After the crypto startup Trality, the AI company Aisemo, the Graz app optimization startup AppRadar or the Tyrolean Secureo went bankrupt after investing millions, another well-known startup from Vienna is now coming with bad news: goUrban , a software provider for shared mobility services, has slipped into insolvency and has to go through restructuring proceedings.
The previous CEO Jonathan Gleixner was replaced in July by the previous CTO and co-founder Bojan Jukić. Gleixner is no longer operationally active for the company. In the reorganization process, assets of around EUR 1.24 million are now offset by total liabilities of EUR 4.39 million, and there are 108 creditors. Unfortunately, there will be layoffs for some of the current 28 employees, and a subsidiary in Novi Sad, Serbia, will also be closed. The second subsidiary in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, will continue to operate.
We remember: Founded in 2016, goUrban initially operated its own moped sharing fleet. However, the plan was abandoned after some time in order to become a software provider for those companies that operate sharing fleets. Then in 2022, after the pivot, the large Series A financing round of several million euros followed. The aws Gründerfonds, Elevator Ventures of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) and Uniqa Ventures jointly invested in goUrban, according to reports up to 10 million euros were paid at the time. It was also communicated that an “eight-digit amount for scaling” was now available.
“Some prominent startups won’t make it”
Upheavals in the shared mobility market
But even this tidy amount of cash was apparently not enough last year. goUrban is now planning a self-administered turnaround to realign itself in the face of difficult economic market conditions. The goal is a “leaner cost structure and greater agility” – which will probably go hand in hand with the reduction of employees. They now want to address new target groups, especially in the area of corporate fleets. Existing customers became skeptical after the largest customer defaulted on payment. It is not publicly known who that is – but GoUrban recently communicated a large three-year contract with the Dutch e-moped rental company GO Sharing, for which the Viennese built the app. GO Sharing, in turn, was bought by BinBin from Turkey in early 2023.
Although goUrban pursued a strong expansion in the past year, the desired success in the area of shared mobility could not be achieved due to the current market conditions. Of course, because there have been dramatic changes in the market in the area of shared mobility. Either companies like Tier Mobility or Voi are trying to buy/sell, or austerity measures are being taken to achieve profitability. New business is difficult in this environment.
Big companies are interested
“We are aware of the challenges that lie ahead in the shared mobility industry,” said Bojan Jukić, the new CEO of goUrban, in a press release. “The planned measures strengthen us to support companies in the transition to new sustainable forms of mobility and to help them achieve their ESG goals.”
goUrban investors are confident that the restructuring will work. The company is now planning to develop new market and customer segments, particularly in the area of corporate fleets. Discussions with major customers have shown that sustainable and shared forms of mobility are becoming increasingly important in connection with emissions management and ESG goals. A large group from the mobility industry has been won as a new customer, and other companies have shown interest in future product developments.
GO Sharing collects 50 million euros for expansion and fleet expansion