President Chiang and Purdue-affiliated Veo celebrate company’s launch on campus

Veo’s shared scooters and bikes to increase clean transportation access for students and the community

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University and Veo on Thursday (April 20) celebrated the launch of shared scooters and bikes on campus and in West Lafayette. Now a national leader in micromobility, Veo was founded by Purdue graduates Edwin Tan and Candice Xie in 2017. Veo deployed a mixed fleet of 500 scooters and bikes last month as students returned from spring break. 

“Veo is a shining example of how a world-class education at Purdue prepares graduates to become innovators and industry leaders,” said Purdue President Mung Chiang. “Every time a member of our community gets on a Veo, they will be using a sustainable transportation system that exemplifies Purdue innovation in action. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Veo home.” 

Xie and Tan presented Chiang with a custom golden scooter at the press event to commemorate Veo’s launch on campus.

Tan, Veo’s president, who earned a master’s degree from the School of Mechanical Engineering, said, “Purdue’s culture of entrepreneurship and innovation provided us with the foundation to launch Veo six years ago on campus. We have now scaled to 50-plus cities nationwide, advancing our mission to make cities more livable by creating clean, accessible transportation for everyone. Purdue and West Lafayette fit perfectly into this vision, with strong ridership demand and great bike infrastructure. It’s an honor to bring our product back to the campus that played such an important role in our success.” 

“As students, Edwin and I identified a need to make sustainable travel affordable and convenient – especially in bike-friendly communities like West Lafayette,” said Xie, Veo’s CEO, who received a bachelor’s degree from Purdue’s School of Management (now the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business). “Purdue provided the academic rigor and entrepreneurship resources to get us started. My time at Purdue inspired me to think differently, creatively and ambitiously. It encouraged me not to wait but to create opportunities and eventually led me to start Veo. We are thrilled to launch here and serve the community where it all began.”

Xie and Tan credit the Purdue Foundry, an entrepreneurship and commercialization accelerator on campus, for setting them up for success. The Foundry’s Entrepreneurs-In-Residence program helped them come up with a business plan and provided valuable advice.

“In 2017, Purdue Foundry identified Veo as a promising young startup with exceptional Purdue alumni founders and a vision for the future,” said Brian Edelman, president of the Purdue Research Foundation. “The Foundry is proud to see that Veo’s strong business model is scaling successfully while having a positive impact on society.” 

From startup to scaling across the nation

Xie and Tan started Veo in 2017 with a business plan and big aspirations. They incubated their company at Purdue Foundry, where they created their business plan and developed their first prototype. Xie and Tan then did a small-scale pilot program with their teal-colored shared bikes around the city of West Lafayette. Their bikes quickly became a popular way to get around Purdue and the bike-friendly community of West Lafayette.

Veo now operates in over 50 markets across North America with fleets of shared electric bikes and scooters it designs and manufactures in-house. With a focus on deliberate and responsible growth, Veo in 2020 became the industry’s first profitable micromobility company. Recognized as a Forbes Best Startup Employer, the company now has over 200 employees and continues to grow as it deploys new vehicle types and enters new markets across North America. Veo’s diverse portfolio of markets includes New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle and Washington, D.C., as well as universities including the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Indiana University, Texas A&M University and Rutgers University.

“We’re excited to be partnering with Veo to provide quality, micromobility options on the West Lafayette campus,” said Rob Wynkoop, vice president for administrative operations at Purdue. “The safety of the campus community is of the utmost importance to us, and we strongly support Veo’s focus on vehicle design safety and their strong stance on safe operating practices.”

Learn more about Veo’s fleet and download the vehicle press kit.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked in each of the last five years as one of the 10 Most Innovative universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at https://stories.purdue.edu.

About Veo

Veo is on a mission to end car dependency by making clean transportation accessible to all. We have provided millions of shared bike and scooter rides in 50-plus cities and universities across North America – and we’re just getting started.

Veo operates from a set of values that distinguish us in the industry. We are grounded in financial responsibility: Veo partnered with select cities to achieve profitability before scaling. Our in-house design and manufacturing process enables us to constantly innovate and provide cities with the next generation of shared electric bikes and scooters. We develop collaborative, long-term partnerships with cities and universities so we can work together toward a sustainable, safe and equitable transportation future.

Media contacts: Paige Miller, pmiller@veoride.com; Steve Martin, sgmartin@prf.org