Merged with rival Dott (2024) at a combined valuation of ~€150M — a ~93% crash; rebranded Dott.
The rise & fall
6 moments · 2018–2024
The key moments, with employee sentiment along the way.
2018
🌱
2018
Founded in Berlin
Lawrence Leuschner's e-scooter startup joins Europe's micromobility land grab.
TechCrunch
2020
🦄
2020
Joins the unicorn club
A SoftBank-led round makes Tier Europe's best-funded scooter operator.
TechCrunch
2021
📈
2021
The peak: ~€2B$2.2B
SoftBank and Mubadala money values Tier at roughly €2B ($2.2B) at the top of the cheap-capital era.
Sifted
2022–23
2022–23
Cheap capital vanishes
Scooter-sharing economics turn punishing; Tier cuts staff repeatedly in the hunt for profitability.
Sifted
2022–24
💬
From the inside · Glassdoor reviews, 2022–24
Glassdoor reviews from the downturn described the toll: employees counted three or four layoff rounds in little more than a year — some landing after leadership had said the cuts were done — alongside below-market pay and frozen raises.
Jan 2024
🤝
Jan 2024
Merges with Dott at ~€150M combined — out of the club 💔
A ~93% crash from the peak; the combined company raises €60M and keeps the Dott name.
TechCrunch
💬 entries paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor ↗; dated facts carry their source.
How it happened
Tier Mobility was Europe's best-funded e-scooter operator, backed by SoftBank and Mubadala, and reached a roughly €2B ($2.2B) valuation in 2021. As cheap capital vanished and scooter-sharing economics proved punishing, it cut staff repeatedly while hunting for profitability; in January 2024 it merged with rival Dott at a combined valuation of just ~€150M — a 93% collapse from its peak — and kept operating under the Dott brand.
Source: Sifted / TechCrunch / Dealroom (~€2B/$2.2B valuation 2021 backed by SoftBank and Mubadala; Jan 2024 merger with Dott at a combined ~€150M valuation, a 93% drop; €60M equity round; rebranded Dott)
