Israeli ride-sharing company raises $250M, eyes Europe

Israeli ride-sharing company Via announced Monday that it had raised what it described as a "strategic investment" of $250 million from investors. The company said it plans to use the funds to expand into Europe as well as to work more closely on other business opportunities.

Via has developed a shuttle-based carpooling service that it offers directly in the U.S. for a flat-rate starting at $5, as well as through platform partnerships with other transportation providers. Offering ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft a run for their money, Via now looks to expand outside of the U.S., according to a report in Techcrunch.com,

The current fundraising round is led by German automaker Daimler, which is investing $50 million in a joint venture with Via to develop shuttle services throughout Europe, with the rest of the funds coming from private investors and venture capital funds. The Via-Daimler venture aims to allow transport organizations and local authorities in Europe to streamline their transport systems by using Via's technology.

Established in 2012, Via has 200 employees, 100 of whom are based in Israel. To date, the company has raised $137 million, excluding the current round, from investors such as Pitango Venture Capital, 83North, C4 Ventures, Ervington Investments, Expansion Venture Capital, Hearst Ventures, Kapor Capital, Lior Prosor, Planven, Bank Hapoalim, RiverPark, and billionaire Roman Abramovich.

The company said it plans to recruit dozens of developers, products designers, researchers and software engineers in Israel in the coming year.

"We are delighted that Daimler is joining us as investors and strategic partners," Via co-founder and CEO Daniel Ramot said. "The combination of our unique technology with their design and human engineering tradition is ideal for realizing our vision of providing efficient, affordable, ecological and convenient ride-sharing services."