Israel-founded ride-sharing firm Via raises $130M at $3.3B valuation
Company says its revenue has more than doubled since last year to $100 million
Ricky Ben-David is a Times of Israel editor and reporter
Israel-founded ridesharing firm Via Transportation said Tuesday that it raised $130 million in new funding at a valuation of $3.3 billion.
The funding round was led by Janus Henderson, a British global asset management group, with participation from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, ION Crossover Partners, Koch Disruptive Technologies, and Exor, an existing investor.
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 company also works with cities and public agencies to plan transportation systems.
Via said it is eyeing the recently passed Infrastructure Deal in the United States that will see an “unprecedented $91 billion annually in new and reauthorized funding guaranteed for public transit over the next five years.”
The firm, with offices in Tel Aviv and New York, has raised over $900 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.
Last September, Via acquired Fleetonomy, a developer of AI-based optimization solutions for fleets of autonomous vehicles. And in May, the company acquired US firm Remix, a developer of collaborative mapping software for transportation planning, for $100 million.
The company said its revenue more than doubled since last year to $100 million.
“This is the most exciting time in transportation in decades,” said Daniel Ramot and Oren Shoval, co-founders of Via, in the statement Tuesday. “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. “We’ve seen time and time again how traditional industries are transformed by the introduction of technology.”
Via works in 35 countries and said it plans to use the funding to expand into new markets, grow its employee base, and develop more products and services.
The Times of Israel Community.