A little-known startup is dominating Japan¡¯s growing e-scooter ride market, helped by the backing of regulators who for years stonewalled sharing-economy titans Uber Technologies and Airbnb.

Tokyo-based Luup controls more than 90% of the country¡¯s shared e-scooter market in terms of ride mileage, based on government-compiled data. The startup is now on a spending spree to help it widen its lead by doubling the number of its charging ports to 10,000 by 2025, from a current 4,900. Luup¡¯s closest competitor, Bird¡¯s Japan unit, BRJ, has around 300.

To that end, Luup last week said it secured ?3.6 billion in funding, of which almost 70% was raised through a syndicated loan led by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking. That¡¯s lifted the total amount raised to ?12.7 billion ($83.6 million).

¡°Unlike overseas, it¡¯s hard for competition to occur in Japan, so there¡¯s no risk on that front,¡± Luup¡¯s 30-year-old CEO Daiki Okai said in an interview. ¡°When people see only Luup ports around major destinations, we can win without changing our pricing.¡±

Luup is an anomaly in the global cutthroat field of shared electric scooters, where vendors typically vie for customers by slashing prices and inundating cities with their fleets. Luup also enjoys a government largess at odds with the wider trend. In cities including Paris, Sydney and Toronto, regulators are fighting shared e-scooters with outright bans or tougher restrictions.

In contrast, Japan passed a new traffic law that did away with helmet and license requirements for e-scooters. That¡¯s helped more than double the company¡¯s monthly download numbers, a Luup spokesperson said.

¡°We¡¯re emerging from a loss-making phase to one where we can generate solid revenue,¡± Chief Financial Officer Satoshi Mukoyama said. ¡°We are making preparations so we can go public,¡± he said, without giving a time frame.

Luup spent years wooing regulators, conducting joint field tests and incorporating local and national officials¡¯ feedback into product design.

High-profile politicians including former Economic Revitalization Minister Daishiro Yamagiwa backed the startup, transforming micromobility into a symbol of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida¡¯s signature ¡°new capitalism¡± economic package. That backing helped fast-track approval for e-scooter deregulation and the Luup-friendly traffic law.

Japan¡¯s regulations also require e-scooter riders to park in designated charging ports, slowing down would-be-competitors such as Lime and Bird. To catch up, rivals would need to negotiate with landlords and local municipalities to build the ports, which could take months, if not years.

¡°We knew we had to get support from the police, the government and local municipalities,¡± said Okai. ¡°Our long-term goal is to be an integral part of public infrastructure.¡±