Flightcar, a US-based car sharing service focusing on airport users, raised $20.7m last month from backers including travel services provider Priceline, internet company Tencent Holdings and telecommunications firm Softbank, TechCrunch reported yesterday.
Other investors in the series B round included venture capital firms GGV Capital, General Catalyst Partners and First Round Capital. All three are existing investors in Flightcar, as is SoftBank, which participated in the round through its SoftBank Capital unit.
Founded in 2012, Flightcar offers a service through which users can leave their car with an airport-based company valet when they go on holiday. The car is then rented out to be used by other drivers and returned to the airport car park in time for the user’s return.
The company is reportedly growing quickly but is increasingly facing customer service issues along with rapid staff turnover, which was heightened by a restructuring last week that halved the company’s 150-strong workforce.
The series B round follows a $13.5m series A closed in September 2014 that was led by GGV and backed by SoftBank Capital, Comcast Ventures, which acts as cable and internet service provider Comcast, General Catalyst, First Round and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin.
Flightcar had already raised $600,000 in a 2013 seed round that was followed by $5.5m from SoftBank Capital, First Round, General Catalyst, Seacrest Global, Andreessen Horowitz and various angel investors later the same year.