Populus Secures $11 Million in Series A Funding to Help Cities Manage Curbs, Tackle Congestion, and Reduce Carbon Emissions
Trusted by 100+ cities around the world, the Populus platform helps cities digitally manage their streets and curbs for shared scooters, cars, and delivery services
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. August 30, 2022 — Populus, the industry-leading platform for cities to manage new mobility and fleet services, today announced an oversubscribed $11 million Series A funding round.
The round was co-led by Zero Infinity Partners and Climactic with participation from Comcast Ventures and Robert Downey Jr.’s FootPrint Coalition Ventures. As a result of this investment, John Kwaak, Founder & Managing Partner of Zero Infinity Partners, and Raj Kapoor, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Climactic, will join Populus’ Board of Directors.
Populus will use this new capital to make key strategic hires and scale its curb and mobility management platform to additional cities around the world. Populus’ core technology allows cities to securely access data from new mobility and fleet operators, providing cities with important information to shape transportation policies. With access to the Populus platform, cities can create, communicate, and enforce dynamic curbside rules, such as pricing to incentivize transitions towards lower carbon delivery vehicles and reduce congestion.
“We founded Populus because we are passionate about helping cities deliver safer, more carbon efficient transportation as new commercial fleet services continue to expand,” said Regina Clewlow, Populus Co-Founder and CEO. “Now, more than ever, cities have realized that they need to manage their precious physical real estate — curbs and streets — to ensure that as mobility continues to evolve, city leaders can prioritize transportation safety and sustainability.”
John Kwaak, of Zero Infinity Partners, said “Populus is building an innovative digital tool for cities to optimize the usage of their valuable curbside and road infrastructure systems, and we are excited about the company’s prospect of becoming a good long-term partner to both public and private stakeholders alike.”
Raj Kapoor, of Climactic, drew upon his experience as Chief Strategy Officer at Lyft stating, “I talked to many cities about their critical need to manage new transportation modes and was delighted to find that Populus has built a foundational system of record working hand in hand with fleets as well as cities. Populus is in the best position to help cities move to a zero emissions, fleet based, autonomous transportation network needed to accommodate the massive growth in urbanization.”
The Series A financing comes on the heels of exceptional momentum for Populus, which has expanded to 100+ cities and agencies on four continents. The company works with some of the largest metropolitan areas in the world to digitally manage their mobility programs and curbs, including the City of Chicago, City of San Diego, and City of Tel Aviv.
About Populus
Populus helps cities and private mobility providers deliver safe, efficient, and equitable streets. The Populus platform is the only comprehensive digital solution that empowers cities to manage their streets and curbs—with access to mobility data from shared bike, scooter, moped and carsharing operators, and delivery services. The Populus platform serves over 100 cities around the world, ingesting data from more than 40 operators and 150 million rides to date. Learn more at www.populus.ai.
About Zero Infinity Partners
Zero Infinity Partners is a New York-based investment firm providing capital and expertise to early-stage companies looking to disrupt the global infrastructure space – through innovation, optimization, and decarbonization.
About Climactic
Climactic is a leading early stage venture firm dedicated to climate technologies with a focus on enterprise and mobility. Its founders draw upon years of experience as successful VCs and entrepreneurs bridging general tech with climate tech. Learn more at www.climactic.vc.