Taxify Rebrands: Now Known As Bolt

Taxify, the leading European on-demand transportation platform, has changed its name to Bolt and introducing a new logo. The update brings the brand identity in line with the company’s broader vision of transportation that has already expanded from ride-hailing, with cars and motorbikes, to scooter sharing.

Speaking on why the company chose to make the change,Markus Villig, CEO and co-founder, Bolt said,

“Taxify launched five years ago with a mission to make urban transportation more convenient and affordable. Our first product was a taxi dispatch solution that gave the company its original name.”

The Estonian-born tech company has evolved in leaps and bounds since its inception to now serve 25 million customers in over 30 countries globally, making it a leader in Europe and Africa. It was also the first company to bring ride-hailing and scooter sharing together in one single app and is currently working on expanding the scooter sharing service across a number of European cities.

“While we’ve made progress on our mission, we’ve also started to outgrow parts of our brand, including the name. Given our ambition to solve transportation problems on an increasingly broader scale, we want the brand to reflect the company’s future rather than the past.Our new name ‘Bolt’ stands for fast, effortless movement – exactly what the experience of getting around in a city should be, be it by car, scooter or public transport. It also underscores our belief that the future of transportation will be electric”, Regional Manager for Bolt West Africa, Uche Okafor, explained.

The new brand will be gradually rolled out across Bolt’s global markets over the following weeks. Bolt users will not need to take any action as the app will update automatically.

Founded by Markus Villig, Bolt launched in 2013. It’s one of the fastest-growing transportation platforms in Europe and Africa with investors including Daimler, Didi Chuxing, Korelya Capital and TransferWise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus.

Markus Villig teamed up with his brother Martin, ex-Skype, to build the first version of Bolt in 2013 when he was 19 years old. Markus has been featured as the youngest CEO in Forbes Europe 30 under 30 list and is the youngest founder of a billion dollar company in Europe.

Bolt previously Taxify, launched in Lagos, Nigeria in 2018. Bolt has 25 million customers in over 30 countries globally.