Getaround Seeking $200M On $1.7B Valuation

Getaround, the car sharing marketplace, seeks to raise an estimated $201.5 million in Series D extension funding, Pitchbook is reporting. This would bring its valuation to $1.702 billion, up from the $840 million valuation it reached last year.

A spokesperson from Getaround declined to confirm the round. "As a matter of policy, we do not provide comment on funding speculation until we have news to announce," Allison Van Houten, Getaround vice president of marketing, told FreightWaves.

Founded in 2009, Getaround has raised $400 million in total VC funding from investors including GV, Madrona Venture Group and actor Ashton Kutcher. 

The latest raise speaks to the success of Getaround's peer-to-peer business model, in which users rent out their own cars. The round also suggests a shift in the mobility services market, according to Asad Hussain, Pitchbook's emerging tech analyst, away from ridesharing and toward connecting people directly with vehicles such as cars, e-bikes and e-scooters.

"This is especially pertinent given recently proposed legislation disrupting the traditional ridesharing business model by eroding these gig economy companies' abilities to classify workers as independent contractors," Hussain said in an e-mailed statement.

Getaround has been on a tear lately. Almost exactly a year ago the company raised  $300 million Series D round from SoftBank. And in April, Getaround announced its acquisition of Drivy, a Paris-headquartered car-sharing startup that operates in 170 European cities.

Meanwhile, ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft continue to crater. Last quarter, Uber lost a whopping $5 billion. Lyft is also continuing to hemorrhage cash.

By contrast, major micromobility companies — Bird, Lime — continue to raise capital. And earlier this summer the car sharing company Turo raised $250 million in a Series E round from IAC, the internet media company that owned and spun out Match.com and OkCupid. 

That said, microbility companies have also been called to task for questionable financial performance. And e-scooter companies in particular face increasing scrutiny from regulators, as cities around the country struggle with growing numbers of abandoned vehicles and fatal crashes.

Plus, ridesharing has an edge over carsharing in that Uber and Lyft users don't have to find parking, a thankless task as cities become more congested.

So while Getaround and carsharing appear to be riding high, investors will be watching as regulation and consumer demand continue to reshape the fast-changing mobility market.

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