Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Innovations, Internet, Tourism, Transport

"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," Markus Villig, CEO and co-founder of Bolt, told.

"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," Villig added.

The new brand, visual style and logo 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. When opened, the app will display information on the new name. For now, the application's icon is to remain unchanged.

"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," he said.

Villig said it is too soon to estimate the costs relating to the roll-out of the new name.

"As we are a digital platform, most changes will be virtual -- we won't need to change hundreds of stores -- but it is nevertheless a considerable investment in the amount of several million euros," he said.

The founder of Bolt added that as the company is still only starting to develop, there is no notable concern of the new brand remaining unfamiliar to the customer.

"As we have 10 mln new users joining each year, it means that a large part of the customers we will have in several years, will know nothing of our current brand. In the long run, it is similar to the name mTakso, which we had five years ago and which by now no one remembers," Villig said.

Due to the company's rapid growth, Bolt is to relocate to a new office in Tallinn, which can hold roughly 450 people.

The Estonian-born tech company now serves 25 mln customers in over 30 countries and 100 cities globally and has grown to be 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.

Bolt's employees number 850, more than 250 of whom work at the head office in Tallinn.

Bolt mediates millions of rides each month, however, as the exact figures constitute a business secret, the company prefers not to disclose them.