Superpedestrian

Superpedestrian Inc., is a transportation robotics company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that develops electrified and AI technologies for micromobility vehicles. The company runs the LINK e-scooter sharing program, which is active in 30 cities across the US and Europe.
History.
Superpedestrian's first product, The Copenhagen Wheel, was developed at MIT’s Senseable City Lab in 2009 in partnership with the city of Copenhagen, and unveiled at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference. In December 2012, Assaf Biderman, a co-inventor of the Wheel and Associate Director of the MIT Senseable City Lab, founded Superpedestrian to commercialize the Wheel. After several years of engineering, testing, and validation, the Copenhagen Wheel officially launched in April 2017.
In December 2018, the Boston Business Journal reported the company would shifting its focus to start building electric scooters and supplying the scooter sharing fleet operators such as Bird and Lime. In 2020, the company instead began operating shared scooter fleets itself in the US, before expanding to Italy, Spain and Austria. 
Products.
VIS.
The Vehicle Intelligent Safety system (VIS) is a network of sensors, micro-computers and AI that enable micromobility vehicles to self-detect problems and respond. 
Copenhagen Wheel.
The Copenhagen Wheel converted bicycles into e-bikes. It replaced the existing rear wheel. The Copenhagen Wheel contained a custom brushless motor, advanced sensors, control systems, and a lithium-ion battery, all contained within the hub of a single rear bicycle wheel. Combining actual torque, power, cadence, pedal position, and acceleration sensing with high-speed controllers and actuators, the Wheel generated power that seamlessly synchronized with a rider's pedalling.
Bluetooth connectivity enabled riders to personalize their cycling experience from their smartphone. A self-diagnostic safety system (VIS) monitored components and proactively responded to events within milliseconds, protecting both rider and Wheel. 
The Copenhagen Wheel no longer available for sale.
LINK.
LINK is a shared electric scooter designed, engineered, manufactured and operated by Superpedestrian. 
During prototype road-testing, it was called "the Volvo of e-scooters" for its robust build quality. 
The LINK scooter features an operating system that can be updated wirelessly, over-the-air. The second version of the operating system was released in March 2021 and is called "Briggs".
Onboard the scooter, VIS runs 1,000 health checks every second during rides and monitors 140 safety-critical conditions. VIS also allows the scooter to enforce onboard geofence commands in 0.7s.
LINK has a 61-mile battery range.
According to Superpedestrian's VP (EMEA), Haya Verwoord Douidi, the LINK scooter cost $75 million in R&D. 
Scooter sharing.
In June 2020, Zagster was bought by Superpedestrian to create an in-house shared mobility division using LINK scooters.
Superpedestrian beat Bird in a competitive tender process in September 2020 to offer e-scooters in Seattle, US. 
By April 2021, the company was operating shared e-scooters in 21 cities and announced plans to begin e-scooter sharing services in Ireland. 
In May 2020, LINK scooters were available in 30 cities in the US, Spain, Italy and Austria. 
Superpedestrian partnered with ACI in May 2021 to launch a safety course for e-scooter riders in Italy.
Labor.
Superpedestrian states that it has never used gig workers in its history, in contrast to the early shared e-scooter sector. 
Paul Steely White, a long-time active travel advocate in New York City, is Public Affairs Director at Superpedestrian. 
Haya Verwoord Douidri left Bird to join Superpedestrian on 01 July 2020, heading up the company's scooter expansion in Europe. 
Funding.
Superpedestrian has raised more than $63 million in venture capital investment from firms including Cambridge-based General Catalyst and Spark Capital. Additional investors include Tony Fadell, Charles Kim, Jared Leto, Xavier Niel, Paul Sagan, and Christian Klingler. In December 2020, the company secured $60 million in funding to scale-up e-scooter sharing fleets. Investors included Citi Impact Fund.