Israeli-founded ridesharing startup Via has raised USD 130 million in a round led by British global asset management group Janus Henderson. The latest round brings Via’s equity value to USD 3.3 billion, the company announced on Tuesday.
The round was also joined by funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, ION Crossover Partners, Koch Disruptive Technologies, and existing investor Exor.
Founded in 2012 by Daniel Ramot and Oren Shoval, Via seeks to redefine urban transportation with its digital ride-sharing platform. The company’s mobile app connects multiple passengers traveling in the direction, allowing them to share a vehicle.
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The firm operates consumer-facing shuttles in Washington, DC, New York, and in other 70 cities in 20 countries worldwide. The firm also provides its software platform, named TransitTech, to transportation authorities, schools, and universities to allow them to deploy their own shuttles.
Via previously raised a USD 200 million Series E round at a USD 2.2 billion valuation in March 2020. In September 2020, Via acquired Fleetonomy, a developer of AI-based optimization solutions for fleets of autonomous vehicles. In May, the company also signed a USD 100 million deal to acquire US firm Remix, a developer of collaborative mapping software for transportation planning.
The demand for software that can transform transportation systems into advanced digital networks has been increasing rapidly worldwide. As a result, Via has been experiencing strong growth, with revenues from TransitTech more than doubling year on year to exceed an annual run rate of USD 100 million, the company announced.
“This is the most exciting time in transportation in decades,” Daniel Ramot and Shoval, co-founders of Via, said in the announcement. “Cities around the world are recognizing the critical role that technology can play in improving the efficiency and quality of their transit networks. Our software provides an end-to-end solution that helps cities and public agencies plan, operate, and optimize every facet of their transportation system.”
“When we look at the public transit market today, we see tremendous opportunity,” said Denny Fish, portfolio manager at Janus Henderson. “We’ve seen time and time again how traditional industries are transformed by the introduction of technology: fintech, health tech, edtech, and others have driven extraordinary improvements in performance and efficiency. The transitech sector is next, and Via is uniquely positioned to lead it. The company’s mission to expand access to efficient, affordable, and sustainable transportation is inspiring.”
The article was originally published by NoCamels, a leading news website covering breakthrough innovation from Israel for a global audience.