Israel-founded ride-sharing firm Via buys US mapping software maker Remix

$100 million acquisition will bring Via complementary capabilities to boost its offering to customers; Via operates in 200 cities across 24 countries

Shoshanna Solomon was The Times of Israel's Startups and Business reporter

Daniel Ramot (left) and Oren Shoval, the co-founders of ridesharing firm Via Transportation Inc. (Courtesy)
Daniel Ramot (left) and Oren Shoval, the co-founders of ridesharing firm Via Transportation Inc. (Courtesy)

Israel-founded ridesharing firm Via Transportation Inc. said Wednesday it is acquiring US firm Remix, a developer of collaborative mapping software for transportation planning, for $100 million to boost its customer offering.

Remix was founded in 2014 in San Francisco as a grassroots, easy-to-use transit planning platform. The company secured investments from Sequoia, Y Combinator, and Energy Impact Partners to expand and provide collaborative technology for planning public transit and managing shared mobility. Remix works with more than 350 local governments in 22 countries across five continents and is used to design hundreds of city transportation systems, touching the lives of more than 240 million people worldwide, Via said in a statement.

Via, founded in 2012 by Daniel Ramot and Oren Shoval, has developed an on-demand ride-sharing service: its mobile app connects multiple passengers who are headed the same way, allowing them to share a vehicle. The firm, with offices in Tel Aviv and New York, has raised $787 million to date from investors including Shell Ventures, Hearst Ventures and Israeli VC firms Pitango Venture Capital and 83North, according to the database of Start-Up Nation Central. In September, Via acquired Fleetonomy, a developer of AI-based optimization solutions for fleets of autonomous vehicles.

Via operates in over 200 cities in 24 countries. The acquisition brings together complementary capabilities to help transportation planning, innovation, and operations teams respond to changing demands, often in real time, the statement said.

“Together the companies will be able to help more cities take advantage of the technological revolution to improve and streamline transportation infrastructure,” the statement said.

Via has “ambitious plans to invest and expand the Remix product suite to offer enhanced public transportation planning capabilities,” the statement added.

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