Uber Technologies Inc. has joined Alphabet Inc. in participating in a $335 million round into electric scooter startup LimeBike Inc. as the ride-hailing company continues investing in a multimodal ecosystem.

Also participating in the Series C round, led by GV, were IVP, Atomico, Fidelity Management, Research Company, Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue, Fifth Wall and GIC, the Singapore Sovereign Wealth Fund.

Under the deal, GV’s Joe Kraus will be joining Lime’s board. The valuation on the round was not officially disclosed but is believed to be $1.1 billion, according to Bloomberg.

As noted when Alphabet was rumored to be joining the round July 1, Lime’s scooters are an evolution of sorts from simple bike rental services, which Lime also provides, in that they offer a more attractive, environmentally friendly alternative for shorter trips than hailing a vehicle. Since opening its doors in July 2017, Lime has grown to service more than 50 markets in the U.S. and is in the process of expanding internationally starting with Toronto and Paris.

Lime’s competition comes from Bird Rides Inc. which raised $300 million on a $2 billion valuation June 28. That round was led by Sequoia Capital, showing an interesting split between the two Sand Hill Road venture capital firms — Andreessen Horowitz being an investor in Lime — on who they think will succeed in owning the market over the medium to long term.

For Uber, the investment in Lime sits nicely against its acquisition of Jump Bikes Inc. for $400 million in April. That bike-sharing startup doesn’t offer electric scooters. The deal follows rival Lyft Inc.’s acquisition of Motivate International Inc., which offers both bicycle and electric scooter sharing, for $250 million last week.

If there was any doubt that Uber coming on board as an investor was related to Uber wanting a slice of the burgeoning electric scooter sharing market, the answer can be found in the press release from Lime.

“As electric scooters grow in popularity and become a more beloved way to travel short distances, the partnership adds to Uber’s vision of becoming a transportation platform for people around the globe,” the statement reads. “We are working to co-brand our scooters and make Lime available in the Uber app, with more news to follow. We could not be more thrilled about this partnership and what it brings to riders everywhere.”

Photo: Lime