# Outsmarting Uber: Why Bolt Wins in Europe

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-a16z-show-436525/outsmarting-uber-why-bolt-wins-in-europe
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-a16z-show-436525/outsmarting-uber-why-bolt-wins-in-europe.md
Podcast: [The a16z Show](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-a16z-show-436525)
Published: 2026-07-02T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/outsmarting-uber-why-bolt-wins-in-europe-EfFQWvrq
Audio file: https://mgln.ai/e/1344/afp-848985-injected.calisto.simplecastaudio.com/3f86df7b-51c6-4101-88a2-550dba782de8/episodes/8ddf5f97-9707-46d2-97d3-7e53aeeea1f2/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=3f86df7b-51c6-4101-88a2-550dba782de8&awEpisodeId=8ddf5f97-9707-46d2-97d3-7e53aeeea1f2&feed=JGE3yC0V
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-a16z-show-436525/episodes/outsmarting-uber-why-bolt-wins-in-europe
Duration seconds: 2475

## Resource

What does it take to build a global mobility company from a country of just 1.3 million people? Markus Villig, founder and CEO of Bolt, joins the show to share how he scaled from Estonia to 50+ countries, navigating early scrappy days, a near-bankruptcy from expanding too fast, and the hard-won lessons behind Bolt’s capital-efficient growth. They also discuss building in Europe vs. the U.S., competing against much better-funded rivals, and why culture and ambition matter more than regulation. Finally, Markus lays out what’s next: autonomy, robotaxis, and why the future of mobility will be a hybrid of human drivers and self-driving fleets.

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## Transcript

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