Germany-based automotive transport provider Blacklane secured an amount of series D funding sources told TechCrunch was between $40m and $45m from investors including diversified conglomerate Alfahim and carmaker Daimler yesterday.
The company announced the series D round but not the size, referring to it only as the largest it had so far raised. Venture capital firm Btov Partners also participated, and Daimler invested through its Daimler Mobility Services subsidiary.
Blacklane runs an on-demand chauffeur service that utilises luxury sedans and sports utility vehicles, and which spans 250 cities across 50 countries.
The company intends to extend that figure to 300 in 2018, prioritising Africa and the Middle East, where United Arab Emirates-based Alfahim is situated. It will also launch a specialist airport service based on Solve, the airport concierge service it acquired in October 2017.
Alfahim chairman Ahmed AJ Al Fahim said: “Combining our nationwide expertise and diversity with Blacklane’s reinvention of the professional driver industry for the benefit of travellers, drivers and partners will bring unequivocal innovative luxury services to the Middle East and Africa.
“Blacklane’s ambition and brand strength make it the ideal company to add to our global portfolio.”
Daimler Mobility Services led Blacklane’s 2016 series C round, in which it raised an eight-digit euro figure (€1 = $1.20) from investors also including Btov Partners, investment group RI Digital Ventures and growth capital firm Alstin.
The company had previously received a mid-seven digit euro sum from human resources firm Recruit in 2014 through its Recruit Strategic Partners unit.
– Image courtesy of Blacklane GmbH.