Markus Villig
Founder and CEO of Bolt; Estonian mobility entrepreneur and energy-tech angel investor.
Last refreshed: 22 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
How does Europe's ride-hailing king fit into the UK's gas-grid decarbonisation?
Timeline for Markus Villig
Angel-invested in Rivan's £25m fundraise
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Background
Markus Villig angel-invested in Rivan's £25m Project Steadfast round on 20 April 2026, backing Europe's largest planned synthetic natural gas facility in Wiltshire alongside IQ Capital, Plural, Matt Clifford, and Thomas Wolf. As one of Europe's most successful tech founders, Villig's move into UK Energy infrastructure reflects a broader trend of European technology entrepreneurs diversifying angel activity beyond their primary sectors.
Villig founded Bolt in Tallinn, Estonia in 2013 at the age of 19. Originally called Taxify, the company pivoted and scaled into a multi-vertical platform covering ride-hailing, food delivery, and micro-mobility, operating in over 50 countries and 600 cities, primarily across Europe and Africa, and serving more than 150 million users. Bolt's last publicly reported valuation was approximately £7.4bn following a 2023 funding round, making it one of the most valuable technology companies to emerge from the Baltic states.
Villig's participation in the Rivan round, alongside fellow European tech founders and prominent UK investors, signals that the angel tier of UK Energy infrastructure funding is increasingly being shaped by founders who built the digital platforms that now drive the energy demand those investments aim to manage.
