Getaround, the carsharing platform that empowers users to instantly access and drive cars nearby, announced a $140 million Series E financing from PeopleFund with new investors including Reid Hoffman’s and Mark Pincus’ Reinvent Capital, AmRest founder Henry McGovern, Pennant Investors, and VectoIQ partners Steve Girsky, Mary Chan, and Julia Steyn.
Existing investors SoftBank Vision Fund, Menlo Ventures, Braemar Energy Ventures, Triangle Peak Partners, Asset Plus Capital, Bpifrance, Cathay Innovation, and Via-ID also participated in the current financing round.
With this new round, the company plans to further develop its unique connected car technology which enables a fully contactless experience, expand strategic partnerships, strengthen its global position through continued long-term growth, and reach worldwide profitability.
“Our contactless solution has empowered people around the world to carshare during the global pandemic, and, as a result we have rebounded from a steep initial drop of 75% in usage due to COVID-19 to achieve significant growth,” said Sam Zaid, Founder & CEO at Getaround. “As we work to continue to scale our marketplace, we are proud to have the support of our world-class investors. Closing a round of funding negotiated in such challenging times amidst the pandemic underlines their belief that Getaround is truly the future of mobility.”
PeopleFund CEO Matias de Tezanos will join the company’s Board of Directors. As a founder and former CEO of multiple high growth Inc. 500 tech companies, he brings 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur and operator. “We are impressed at how the Getaround team and marketplace are responding to the COVID crisis with an essential service that enables users to book cars without requiring in-person interaction to hand off keys,” said de Tezanos. “This round will accelerate the company’s growth and maintain market leadership.”
“Getaround has strong momentum and we believe they have the ability to be a global leader in mobility,” said Mark Pincus, Managing Member at Reinvent Capital. “Sam and the team have done an outstanding job managing through the pandemic and returning to significant growth in a short period of time. We look forward to supporting them as they pursue their next phase of growth.”
Also, the company announced some key executive hires to support its next stage of growth. It appointed Dan Kim as Chief Operating Officer to lead its North American business. Laura Onopchenko joins as Chief Financial Officer, Tia Gordon joins as Vice President, People & Culture to head up workplaces globally, Ruth Yankoupe joins as Vice President, Customer Experience.
“We are optimistic about the next phase of growth for Getaround,” said Jonathan Hong, Investment Director at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “The company is well positioned to be an essential player of the global mobility space and we are excited about our collaboration with the Getaround team and our investing partners, both strategically and operationally.”
Headquartered in San Francisco, Getaround is the world’s largest connected carsharing marketplace with thousands of cars available in over 300 cities across the U.S. and Europe.
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