Germany-based online taxi ordering application MyTaxi secured €10m ($13m) in series B funding on Monday, with Car2Go, an urban mobility subsidiary of automotive corporation Daimler, and Deutsche Telekom’s corporate venturing unit, T-Venture, among the backers.
The size of the stake acquired by Car2Go is reportedly 15%, while KfW Bankengruppe, a development bank part-owned by the German government, and investment firm Cinco Capital also participated. Investment firm E42 is a prior investor.
Founded in 2009, MyTaxi runs a mobile application-based taxi ordering service which operates without central dispatching services meaning drivers can work independently without adhering to a centre’s rigid work structures. T-Venture has been a backer since MyTaxi’s September 2010 seed round.
MyTaxi claims to be a market leader in more than 30 cities across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and is now aiming to use the latest round of capital to expand into England, Spain and the Netherlands.
Robert Henrich, chief executive officer of Car2Go, said: "Our investment in and strategic partnership with MyTaxi is a way for us to expand upon bridging the gaps in public transportation. The services of Car2Go and MyTaxi do not compete, but complement each other so that they can be combined to meet the needs of urban transportation in a practical and convenient way."
Thomas Kiessling, chief product and innovation officer of Deutsche Telekom, added: "MyTaxi is well in alignment with our strategy to increasing online services – partnerships with innovative start-ups is one example of how to accomplish this. We welcome the co-investment of Daimler in MyTaxi as we can ensure a strong position for further growth of the company."