How it started with Segway

One day inventor Dean Kamen saw a young man in a wheelchair struggling to get over a sidewalk. He realized that the problem wasn't an ineffective wheelchair, it was that the world was built for people who could balance. Subsequently he and his team created the Independence IBOT™️ Mobility System, a self-balancing mobility device that enables users to climb stairs and negotiate uneven surfaces. After that, the thought arose that a balance machine had far-reaching possibilities for people with full mobility as well.

Our inspiration for the name Segway came from the word segue, which is defined as ""to transition smoothly from one state to another"". Segway transforms a person into an empowered pedestrian, allowing him/her to go farther, move more quickly and carry more."

The Self-Balancing Technology

If you stand up and lean forward, you won't fall on your face just like that. Your brain knows you are out of balance, because fluid in your inner ear shifts. It triggers you to put your leg forward and stop a possible fall.

The Segway technology does pretty much the same thing, except that our vehicles have wheels instead of legs, a motor instead of muscles, a collection of microprocessors instead of a brain and a set of sophisticated tilt sensors and gyroscopic sensors instead of an inner-ear balancing system. Like your brain, a Segway product knows when you are leaning forward. To maintain balance, it turns the wheels at just the right speed and you’ll move forward.

Keep it green

As a leader in electric mobility, it's always been Segway-Ninebot's vision to produce environmentally friendly short-distance transportation alternatives. Today, more and more people are using Segway-Ninebot products as an eco-friendly alternative for many of the short journeys that are typically made by car. Besides that, zero emissions are given off during operation, allowing you to ride your vehicle indoors as well.

The story of Ninebot

Ninebot is a privately held company headquartered in Beijing, China. In 2015 Ninebot strategically merged with Segway, headquartered in Bedford, US. The combined company focuses on the research and development, design, manufacturing, distribution and sales of short-distance transportation products. The combined company has strategic headquarters in the US, The Netherlands and Beijing as well as manufacturing centers in the US and China.

Segway and Ninebot are devoted to seamlessly connect robotic solutions to smart phones and integrate existing technologies and future concepts, such as voice interaction and facial recognition with its robotic products – products that will be highly interactive and encourage smarter living.

Company Timeline

1999 - Renowned inventor Dean Kamen founds “the Company”, later to be known as Segway.

2002 - First Segway Personal Transporters (PT) are sold on Amazon.com

2005 - Segway Cross-Terrain Transporter is launched

2013 - Ninebot is established in Beijing, China

2014 - Segway three-wheel PT is launched – SE-3 Patroller, for the public safety market

2014 - Ninebot launches Ninebot E+

2015 - Segway and Ninebot, Inc. complete strategic combination. The combined company will focus on research and development, manufacturing, sales and service in the short-distance transportation industry.

2015 - Ninebot by Segway launches miniPRO and ONE E+

2016 - Ninebot by Segway launches ONE S2 – successor of Ninebot ONE E+

2016 - Segway Europe HQ is opened in Amsterdam, The Netherlands

2017 - Segway-Ninebot launches Segway miniLITE and S-PLUS

2017 - Segway-Ninebot announces the arrival of its latest product, the Ninebot KickScooter by Segway. These electric kickscooters, including the ES1, ES2, and ES4 models, will soon kick off the scooter sharing craze.

2018 - Continuing its history of innovative transportation solutions, Segway-Ninebot launches its first pair of electric skates, the Segway Drift W1.

2018 - Segway-Ninebot launches its most unique accessory ever, the Ninebot Gokart Kit. This kit can be used in conjunction with the Ninebot S to create a fully functional go-kart.

2019 - The Ninebot KickScooter MAX G30 is launched in EMEA market and the Ninebot KickScooter MAX G30D is the first street legal kicksooter every designed for the German market. The MAX series will have the longest range of any kickscooter on the market.