Yes, but is the US the area where the product will have the most revolutionary impact? In my view, I would target high density cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Delhi, Paris, etc.
Europe and Asia seem like the most important markets for the technology rather than the US which is littered with sprawled out cities.
The US is the least penetrated market when it comes to bikes. Uber changed the way people interact with taxis/cabs enough to make a cultural impact in many parts of the world, and it has the clout to do the same with bikes. I think it's a good diversification on their part, kind of insuring against the future where driverless cars won't necessarily become the de facto universal means of transit worldwide as the rest of America/SV seems to envision.
Paris has already had a few experiments with dockless bikes, while the docked biked offered by the city are not available because of global replacement done by the lowest bidder.
Since the dockless bikes did not ask for permission of the city, they're now forbidden and the few I've seen were in a bad state.
That's a problem being solved already in Scandinavian countries. It just takes education and continually improving infrastructure. The more bikers that are on the road, the safer everyone feels riding a bike, which means more bikers on the road :)
The only thing that article says about snow is to prioritize clearing it on bike routes. That isn't good enough by a long shot. Sorry I'm not riding a bike when it's below freezing and I'm not riding a bike in the snow or the rain. Just forget it.
While the amount of bike traffic definitely goes down during winter, I can't recall a day in Chicago this last year where I didn't see anyone in the bike lanes
Europe and Asia seem like the most important markets for the technology rather than the US which is littered with sprawled out cities.