Electric moped company Revel raised $126 million led by BlackRock

Revel, a New York-based company best known for its rentable, bright blue electric mopeds, has raised $126 million in Series B funding led by Blackrock.

Why it matters: Investors are betting that Revel can build a successful business where others haven't done so well, or have taken a drastically different approach — namely operating mopeds at scale, and a ride-hailing service that employs its drivers. Oh, and it's also running electric car charging stations.

Details: Toyota Ventures, Goodyear Ventures, Shell Ventures, Broadscale Group, Obsidian Ventures, the St Baker Energy Innovation Fund and Knighthead Capital Management also participated in the round. The company plans to use the funds to expand its vehicle charging network.

The bottom line: "The investment giant has raised billions for renewable power projects, but also made headlines in recent months for its continued investment in fossil fuels, and in 2020 helped pump more than 330 million tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere." — Kevin Duggan, AMNY