Cargo, the US-based operator of a commerce service for the ride hailing industry, has secured $5.5m in seed capital from investors including food producer Kellogg’s strategic investment arm, Eighteen94 Capital.
Venture capital firm CRCM Ventures and Techstars Ventures, the VC fund formed by accelerator operator Techstars, also participated in the round alongside undisclosed additional VC firms, according to VentureBeat.
Cargo runs an in-car brand promotion service that involves drivers supplying sample products or selling on premium items such as food, drinks or phone chargers from its partners to their passengers. If one of those passengers buys a product or takes a sample the drivers earn money.
The funding was raised as an add-on to the $1.75m the startup received from Techstars, Fontinalis Partners, Rosecliff Ventures and Detroit Venture Partners in July 2017. Cargo’s website also lists Gramercy Fund, Ride Ventures and Bleu Capital as investors.
Simon Burton, managing director at Eighteen94 Capital, said: “Cargo represents Eighteen94 capital fund’s first channel investment. We see huge potential in the new consumer touchpoint within the passenger economy that Cargo is developing.
“Cargo provides brands with innovative opportunities to connect to the consumer in their moment of need. This platform will allow us to gather useful transactional data and collect permission-based consumer insights in real time.”