Brazil-based online car rental services provider Kovi has hauled in $104m in a series B round led by Prosus Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of consumer internet group Prosus, and Valor Capital Group, TechCrunch has reported.
Quona, Monashees, UVC Investimentos, GFC and Globo Ventures, along with private investors Peter Thiel and Justin Mateen also took part in the round.
Founded in 2018, Kovi leases cars to drivers who are looking to earn income through ride-sharing platforms like Uber and would otherwise not be able to because of prohibitive costs of ownership and maintenance.
It will use the capital to move into new cities across Latin America and penetrate further into the Brazilian and Mexican markets. Money will also be allocated to developing its data management and pay-per-mile business model, to which it pivoted during the pandemic as business slowed.
Additionally, it will look to diversify its product range to include functions like auto insurance and a pathway to ownership for drivers who want to work towards acquiring the vehicle they are renting.
Kovi secured $10.5m in a seed round in March 2019 led by Monashees, with participation from ONEVC, Y Combinator, Maya Capital, Soma Capital, Broadhaven Ventures as well as angel investors Kevin Efrusy, Justin Mateen, Cem Garih and Ariel Lambrecht.
Y Combinator, Maya Capital, ONEVC, Monashees, Broadhaven, Efrusy and Mateen returned for a $30m Global Founders Capital-led series A round in November 2019, which also featured Quona Capital.
On top of the equity rounds, Kovi recently also sourced a $20m debt facility, according to TechCrunch.
