BEAM has secured US$93 million in Series B funding led by private equity firm Affirma Capital, the e-scooter sharing company announced on Friday (Feb 25).

The Series B round includes participation from Sequoia Capital India, Hana Ventures, ICT Capital, EDBI, AC Ventures and more.

The startup is headquartered in Singapore and operates e-scooters and e-bikes in 35 cities across Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Beam plans to use the funds raised to expand into Asia-Pacific by introducing its shared micro-mobility vehicles and technologies into new markets such as Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Turkey.

The funds will also be used to enhance Beam's safety technologies through the deployment of its new micro-mobility augmented riding safety (Mars).

Mars is a technology by Beam that includes safety innovations to protect pedestrians, enhance control of city spaces for zoning and parking, and encourage safer usage of vehicles by riders.

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Beam will introduce its new fifth generation Beam Saturn e-scooter as part of its next-phase rollout as well. The new scooter has 12-inch wheels, combined with hydraulic suspension and fully swappable batteries with capacity for 110 km riding range.

Co-founders Deb Gangopadhyay and Alan Jiang expressed their excitement towards the company's advancements as it brings the Beam Saturn e-scooter and Mars technology to new cities.

Gangopadhyay, who is also chief technology officer, said he is proud of the company's innovation to reduce risks to pedestrians with its onboard artificial intelligence camera that can detect pedestrians to prevent collisions and detect footpaths to reduce speed.

Beam's chief executive Jiang also highlighted his enthusiasm to partner with a "visionary fund" such as Affirma Capital to bring lower cost as well as greener and safer mobility for cities across the Asia-Pacific region.

The managing director and co-head of Asean at Affirma Capital Thuy Dropsey also mentioned that he is impressed by Beam's engagement and partnership approach and its leadership in high impact areas of environmental, social and governance.

He added: "We are excited to partner with the company to increase the velocity of deployment, deepen penetration in existing markets and bring sustainable micro-mobility access to more Asian cities."

Likewise, co-founder and head of Korea at Affirma Capital Taeyub Kim said Beam is equipped with "highly capable management, technological agility, proven operational capabilities, and a capital-efficient expansion strategy to solidify its leadership".

"We believe that Affirma Capital's cross-regional footprint and strong network will fuel the company's exponential growth. Micro-mobility is an industry that looks to be dominated by top-tier regional category winners. We believe Beam is well positioned to be the category winner in Asia-Pacific," he added.