US-based vehicle-sharing platform Turo has closed a $104m series D round yesterday with $12m from diversified conglomerate Sumitomo and American Express Ventures, a subsidiary of payment services firm American Express.
The funding was added to $92m supplied by carmaker Daimler, conglomerate SK Holdings and Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, a subsidiary of insurer Liberty Mutual, as well as growth capital firm Founders Circle Capital and undisclosed existing backers in September 2017.
Initially known as RelayRides, Turo has developed an online marketplace where users can lease their vehicles to each other for short periods of time. The service can be accessed in some 5,500 cities and 500 airports, and the Turo community includes almost 6 million members.
The new funding was disclosed alongside a Commercial Hosts initiative that will help users access cars from local independent rental businesses while travelling internationally. The plan is already in place in 56 countries across the world.
Andre Haddad, chief executive of Toro, said in a blog post: “As a company that is intensely focused on enabling its customers to have unique travel experiences, American Express’ strategic investment positions us well within the travel ecosystem.
“Sumitomo Corporation will help provide guidance as we look to expand to Asia, particularly Japan. We welcome and expect to learn from their expertise in global marketing and customer service as Turo continues to make a huge impact in the automotive and travel industries.”
The round increased the company’s overall funding to $199m since it was founded in 2008. It closed a $13m series A round featuring GV, the corporate venturing unit formerly known as Google Ventures, carmaker General Motors, August Capital and Shasta Ventures in 2011.
GV, August Capital and Shasta Ventures subsequently joined Canaan Partners and Trinity Ventures for Turo’s $35m series B round, which closed in 2014, before the company added $47m in a Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers-led series C round the following year.