GoTo Global, a subsidiary of Ambassador Group which owns 72% of the company, announced earlier this week on a $19 million Series B round, funded mainly by former deposed WeWork CEO and co-founder Adam Neumann, who invested $10 million while the other $9 million came from existing investors. The current funding round was based on a company evaluation of $30 million.
A one-stop-shop for all shared rides
GoTo Global, which aims to take over the ride-share industry offering everything from cars, bikes, scooters, and more, currently runs a number of ride-share services like CAR2GO, and Israeli based AutoTel and shared bike service Mobike, along with similar operations in Malta. Aside from the operational services, the company also holds an Israeli R&D center which provides innovations destined for the Israeli and European markets.
The company utilizes its technology for its social-sharing tools like payment collecting systems, CRM, fleet control and data collection powered by AI. The data provides the company a complete overlook of fulfilled reservations as well as unfulfilled reservations that in combination with location can create a complete forecast of desired asset use.
GoTo Global CEO, Gil Laser told Geektime about the impact of the Coronavirus on the company’s business model, noting that the company indeed felt the pandemic effects - especially due to lockdown regulations. Nevertheless, he claims that the company is witnessing a sharp increase in use of the shared rides. Further noting that “during the days of social distancing, the demand for our service is on the rise.” Laser explains that following the COVID-19 outbreak, the company was forced to make specific changes to the regulations when using their services in order to keep everyone safe.
Laser continued to add: “The alternative transportation market is experiencing unprecedented momentum, which predicts the market share to grow to over $600 million worldwide by 2025. These days we are witnessing that the COVID-19 virus and its reality-changing impact is transforming the landscape as fewer people are choosing public transportation as their main way of getting around.”
GoTo Global was founded in 2018 and employs a team of 160 people split between the Israeli R&D center and European offices. According to the company, the newly invested capital will go towards expansion into more European countries, aside from the planned venture in Madrid, Spain.