FENIX, Abu Dhabi-based e-scooter startup, acquires Turkish peer PALM for $5 million 

FENIX has acquired PALM, a homegrown leading micromobility company in Turkey, for $5 million in cash and equity. Turkey becomes the 5th operational country and Istanbul the 13th operational city for FENIX since its launch in Abu Dhabi, UAE in November 2020. The company has raised additional capital from its existing investors to finance the acquisition and expansion into Turkey.

PALM founders Berhan Goksin and Alican İstanbullu will remain with the company and lead the business expansion efforts in Turkey. Existing PALM shareholders and renowned local Turkish entrepreneurs will join as FENIX shareholders and support the company’s efforts to create a leading platform in the Turkish market.

FENIX will also establish an R&D centre for software and hardware in Istanbul to develop breakthrough technologies for the Turkish market and to export to the Greater Middle East region.

The acquisition extends FENIX’s market-leading micromobility platform from the Gulf to Turkey, staking its position as the sole regional platform operating across the Greater Middle East region. The Turkey business, with peaks in summer and dips in winter, will provide a counter-cyclical balance to FENIX’s Gulf business.

Jaideep Dhanoa, Co-founder and CEO of FENIX, said: “The Turkey market is primed for micromobility investment - 83 million people, 75% urban, 20 cities with a million or more population, high public transit and multimodal usage - supported by a government that has released progressive national legislation on shared micromobility. These are fundamentals that we look for, and positions Turkey as one of the most attractive markets in our portfolio. In order to realize the market opportunity, we realized early on we had to be local. We are grateful to find a team of exceptional entrepreneurs in PALM who know the market. They have played a meaningful role in creating the micromobility industry in Turkey. Together we look forward to bringing our micromobility platform to the streets and people of Turkey.”

IQ Sayed, Co-Founder and CTO of FENIX, said: “Our approach at FENIX has been to invest in vehicles, talent and technology customized for each of our markets in the Greater Middle East. By integrating across the value chain, we have been able to achieve distinctive financial performance, unlock new value creation opportunities and offer more ways of serving our customers, such as our recently launched 10-minute grocery delivery service, F10, and subscription service, MyFENIX. In the same vein, we see tremendous innovation potential in Turkey, given the exceptional talent base and manufacturing prowess of the market. In fact, it was one of the motivators for this deal, i.e., to develop new innovations out of an R&D center we are establishing in Istanbul, both to address local needs in the Turkey market and to export to other markets within our footprint. Unique to Turkey is also the opportunity to tap into the manufacturing capabilities of the market. We look forward to building innovative ‘Made in Turkey’ products for our region.”

Berhan Goksin, Co-Founder and CEO of PALM, said: “We started PALM so we could bring micromobility to all of Turkey, in a Turkish way. We found a meeting of the minds when we met the FENIX team, in how we approach the business and how deep in the market we intend to go. We are thrilled to have an experienced partner committed to the Turkey market, investing with us in capital, talent and technology so we can solve consumer needs across Turkey."

Alican Istanbullu, Co-Founder and COO of PALM, said: “With FENIX we found a company that brings best-in-class operational excellence with a focus on capital efficiency through ops and vehicle innovations. We are excited to introduce their custom swappable battery vehicles and cargo e-mopeds into the market, combining with Turkish entrepreneurship to drive distinctive financial performance and market-leading service quality levels. As we scale our business in Turkey there are bound to be more opportunities for synergies and innovation across the board.”

FENIX launched in November 2020, after raising a $5 million Seed Round led by Maniv Mobility. Today the company operates in 13 cities across 5 countries.

FENIX is the first micromobility operator in the world to introduce integrated hand sanitization packs on every FENIX e-scooter to ensure rider safety, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, FENIX has launched the region’s first private e-scooter subscription service, MyFENIX, now with thousands of active subscribers across 8 cities. FENIX is also the first micromobility company globally to enter the rapid deliveries space with it’s F10 vertical, leveraging unique synergies on its micromobility platform for capital efficiencies.

FENIX states that it retains the largest fleet of electric vehicles in the Middle East.