Documented cause
Grin launched in Mexico City in 2018 as Latin America's first dockless electric scooter company, raising backing from a16z and others. In August 2019, Grin merged with Yellow — Brazil's equivalent scooter and bike startup — to form Grow Mobility, the largest shared micromobility company in Latin America. The combined entity proved unable to achieve unit economics across its sprawling city network; Grow Mobility filed for bankruptcy in Brazil in 2020, and Grin operations ceased.
Alternative account: Grin was founded in Mexico City in 2018 by Sergio Romo and a team of Y Combinator alumni, aiming to bring dockless electric scooter sharing to Latin America before US players like Bird and Lime could establish dominance in the region. The company raised $45M, including a Series A led by Monashees and ALLVP, and expanded to Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Brazil within its first year. In late 2019, Grin merged with Yellow — the Brazilian bike and scooter startup founded by the 99 team — forming Grow, a combined entity controlling micromobility across LatAm with $180M in cumulative funding. COVID-19 arrived in March 2020 and eliminated urban mobility demand within days. Streets emptied, sharing physical objects became a safety concern, and city regulators froze scooter operations. Grow suspended scooter operations in all markets outside Mexico, and the Latin American micromobility wave collapsed before it had reached profitability in a single market.