Ridecell raises $45 million in latest funding round
Ridecell, the startup providing fleet management software for autonomous vehicles, has secured $45 million in its Series C financing round.
The round was led by new investor, Fort Ross Ventures, and includes new investor Solasta Ventures.
Existing investors Activate Capital, Denso, LG Technology Ventures, and Initialized Capital also participated in the round.
The Ridecell platform provides data insights and workflow automation for fleets, motor pools, and trucking and logistics companies.
Covid-19 has raised consumer and enterprise rental demand and increased the need for contactless reservation, entry, and drop off solutions.
In recent months, leading government, corporate, trucking, and new-mobility fleets, including Penske, Toyota Sweden, Renault, and AAA, have chosen Ridecell to help them automate and digitize their services.
Ridecell enables them to provide a safe driver experience and 24/7, self-service operations without retail staff or dedicated brick and mortar locations, significantly reducing both risk and operational expenses.
Ratan Singh, principal at Fort Ross Ventures, says: “Mobility technology has never been more critical for fleet owners, especially following a rise in demand due to the global pandemic.
“We chose to invest in Ridecell because the company has both the team dynamic and technical capabilities required to meet the highly diverse needs of the world’s largest fleet and mobility operators. We are excited to help play a role in Ridecell’s global expansion.”
Aarjav Trivedi, CEO of Ridecell, says: “The leading fleets in the world were already working on digital transformation.
“Covid-19 created an urgent need for them to accelerate digital access to their fleets, reduce risk by enabling self-service touch-less monetization across B2B and B2C business models, and reduce costs through automation.
“For Ridecell, it created opportunities to help many customers and partners quickly meet the shifting consumer and enterprise demand for fleet operations automation and contactless commerce.
“We are excited to continue that momentum and welcome our C-round investors to our team as we deliver the premier technology platform for mobility companies and fleet operators in a post-pandemic era.”
Ridecell is leading an ecosystem of global companies integrating their products into the Ridecell platform.
Fleet providers can use the Ridecell APIs, SDK, real-time data platform, and pre-integrated partner solutions to manage fleet data, workflow automation, and vehicle access.
Having an ecosystem of industry leaders provides customers with powerful options that make Ridecell a valuable technology partner.
Rob Wunsche, director of mobility platform services and new product innovation at Denso, says: “Working with Ridecell and their fleet customers has been invaluable as we advance the development and commercialization of new mobility services.
“When Denso invests in partners, our mission is to leverage each other’s strengths to innovate, and with Ridecell, that translates to a powerful set of solutions for fleet owners.”
Ridecell continues to raise capital to power its accelerated international growth, its ability to support larger customers globally, and extend its platform’s core automation and digitization capabilities.