Car-Sharing Startup Getaround Seeking to Raise $200M

Getaround, the online car sharing service provider, is seeking to raise a fund of around $200M in Series D extension from SoftBank. This would bring the startup into the list of unicorns with a valuation of $1.5B+ valuation.

Founded back in 2009, Getaround raised several fundings –

• $13.5M in Series A round from Menlo Ventures in 2011. 
• $24M funding in Series B roundup in 2014. 
• $95M in Series C roundup from Toyota Motor Corporation, and more in 2016-2017.
• $300M in Series D roundup from Softbank in 2017.

These fundings have helped the company improve their peer-to-peer business model, the one that connects people renting their vehicles with those in need of them. 

It also acquired two companies to expand its business beyond California, its headquarters region. 

The first acquisition was of an European car rental startup Drivy that helped Getaround enter the market of France, Spain, Austria, Germany, Belgium, and the UK. Whereas, the second acquisition was that of a Norwegian car rental company Nabobil with an intent to bring Getaround services into seven European countries.

Though Allison Van Houten, the vice president of marketing in Getaround, refused to confirm the round, it is expected that this funding will fuel the business model of the car-sharing startup. The one that has been eroding the business model of gig economy companies.

A spokesperson from SoftBank said, “Getaround and our investors are closely working together on our growth strategy, and we’ll definitely plan to share more when we’re ready”.

While Getaround’s fundings are continuing to become a headline in the car-sharing world, it is not the only brand getting fundings. 

Various other businesses running on the same model are also raising funds to expand their reach to different regions. For example, Turo raised a funding of $250M from InterActive Corp. 

In fact, it has been noticed that the car-sharing and ridesharing industries have seen various such VC activities in the past five years. In 2013, the business vertical disclosed closing 45 deals of $509.5M worth. Whereas, in 2018, they raised a total funding of $16.7B across 106 deals.

Also, it has been seen that people are going with this opportunity to directly connect with people having vehicles to rent rather than associating with on-demand ride sharing agency. This is showing a significant impact on the business of companies like Uber and Lyft – something that can be comprehended from the fact that the former lost $5B in the last quarter while the latter continues to struggle for cash. 

However, its effect on the micromobility economy seems negligible, with Bird, Lime and other electric scooter companies continuously raising capital.

This, as a whole, is taking Entrepreneurs to several On-demand app development companies and discuss ways of entering the domain. And eventually, reap higher benefits.