BeeLine, a navigation device and app for cyclists, has raised over £500,000 in its first Seed round.
The company secured funding from retail and consumer startup investment fund TrueStart, as well as Seedrs, Seedcamp, EarlyMarket and the London Co-Investment Fund.
BeeLine is a Bluetooth-connected, handlebar-mounted device that helps urban cyclists get from A to B without giving them turn-by-turn instructions. The device features a sort of compass arrow, which points in the direction in which the cyclist needs to go, so it’s up to them which paths and roads they take.
Tom Putnam, co-founder of BeeLine, said: “An exciting area for us will be in the ride data that we can gather and use to inform a range of third parties, from city planners to delivery services. Part of this funding will aid in the development of the technology needed to support this.”
Baz Saidieh, CEO of TrueStart, said his firm was attracted to invest in BeeLine because of the talented team behind it and the genuinely disruptive nature of their product.
“It was clear that the founders not only understood the cycling market but appreciated the importance data plays in strengthening their business,” he concluded.
Of the £500,000 received, £85,000 came from the London Co-Investment Fund, which is an initiative supported by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and run by Funding London.