Lake Nona’s Beep grows to 1,000 employees with Freebee merger

Lake Nona-based Beep has completed its merger with Miami-based Freebee, creating one of the nation’s largest microtransit providers, with more than 1,000 employees and more than two million annual riders, according to the Orlando Business Journal. The combined company will operate under the Beep name and stay headquartered in Lake Nona. It brings together Beep’s autonomous transportation platform and Freebee’s human-driven electric shuttles, which serve more than 50 locations across the Southeast. “This transaction accelerates the industry’s journey to autonomous mobility, giving communities the ability to implement meaningful services today while giving people the flexibility to choose between human-driven, autonomous or blended transportation solutions,” said Beep co-founder Kevin Reid, who will lead the company as chairman and CEO. Freebee’s services will keep the Freebee brand, and Beep plans to add autonomous shuttles where the technology fits. The article notes that the merger follows Beep passing $130 million in total capital raised, including a $20 million Series B round led by Mobileye