HopSkipDrive, a US-based ride-sharing service catered to children, has collected $22m from investors including State Farm Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for insurance provider State Farm.
The round also featured investment advisory firm Cyrus Capital Partners, venture capital firms FirstMark Capital and Greycroft, private investor Denis Gallagher and undisclosed additional participants.
Founded in 2014, HopSkipDrive offers an app and web-based platform that lets schools, parents and caregivers schedule transport for children. Its drivers are vetted and receive up to $32 per hour, working to a 100% customer guarantee that children will reach their destination.
Currently employed by more than 200 schools and district authorities, the service primarily caters to transport to and from after-school activities, as well as helping children in exceptional circumstances such as homelessness or foster care.
The funding will help HopSkipDrive enter additional markets, building on an existing presence across eight US states and Washington DC, in addition to funding technology development aimed at introducing new safety features to the service.
Denis Gallagher, the founder and former chief executive of transport services provider and existing HopSkipDrive investor Student Transportation of America, has now joined the company’s board of directors.
HopSkipDrive raised $3.9m in a 2015 seed round led by Upfront Ventures that included BBG Ventures, the female-focused VC fund spun off by telecommunications group Verizon, in addition to FirstMark Capital, Maveron, Joanne Wilson and undisclosed additional investors.
BBG Ventures returned for a $10.2m series A round for the company that was co-led by FirstMark and Upfront Ventures and backed by Greycroft, Pritzker Group Venture Capital and 1776 Ventures the following year.
Student Transportation of America then led a $7.4m round for HopSkipDrive in 2017 that also featured Skyview Capital, FirstMark Capital, Upfront Ventures, Halogen Ventures and unnamed other investors.