France-based ride hailing platform operator Heetch has closed a $20m funding round backed by insurance group Allianz and auto servicing and parts provider Mobivia.
The round also featured venture capital firms Felix Capital and Alven, and private equity firm Idinvest Partners, while Allianz invested through its InnovAllianz corporate venturing unit, and Mobivia through its Via ID investment fund.
Heetch’s app-based ride hailing service began life in 2013 using casual, unlicensed drivers, but was forced to shut down in March 2017 after a French court ruled the service was illegal. It has since relaunched using professional drivers.
The company now markets its platform as a cheaper and more personal alternative to its US-based rival Uber. Heetch holds community days for its drivers and offers customers the option of paying with cash.
Teddy Pellerin, co-founder and chief executive of Heetch, told Tech.eu: “We were operating in a niche, nightlife market but had to evolve into the mainstream, bigger market. This fundraising is just a step: we want to beat Uber in Europe.”
The funding will be used to expand the company’s technical team and to launch in two or three new markets as part of an international expansion that has already involved it entering Italy, Belgium, Sweden and Morocco.
Heetch received $11.8m in funding from Via ID, Felix and Alven in September 2017, but the company has not disclosed whether that formed part of the latest round. Via ID had prevously supplied $500,000 in seed capital for the company in 2014.