Moove raises $250M to become the backbone of the robotaxi industry
Moove raises $250M to become the backbone of the robotaxi industry
Moove 融资 2.5 亿美元，旨在成为自动驾驶出租车行业的基石
Moove’s evolution from a vehicle financing startup to ride-hailing and deliveries in Africa to one that also owns and autonomous vehicles may seem like a leap. But co-founder and co-CEO Ladi Delano said the experience in financing and human-driven ride-hailing fleets was the ideal training ground for its latest pursuit. And now, it has raised $250 million at a $2.1 billion valuation to scale that business.
Moove 从一家在非洲从事车辆融资、网约车和配送服务的初创公司，转型为同时拥有并运营自动驾驶汽车的企业，这看起来似乎是一个巨大的跨越。但联合创始人兼联席首席执行官 Ladi Delano 表示，在融资和人工驾驶网约车车队方面的经验，为其最新的业务追求提供了理想的练兵场。目前，该公司已完成 2.5 亿美元融资，估值达到 21 亿美元，旨在扩大其业务规模。
The company, founded in 2020 in Nigeria and now headquartered in Dubai, said Mubadala Investment Company led this latest, Series C round with Woven Capital and Ion Pacific as co-leads. Moove is still very much in the human-driven ride-hailing business. It owns and operates a 42,000-vehicle ride-hailing fleet across 14 countries. The company, which employs 3,300 people globally, also still provides vehicle financing to gig drivers.
该公司于 2020 年在尼日利亚成立，目前总部位于迪拜。Moove 表示，本轮 C 轮融资由穆巴达拉投资公司（Mubadala Investment Company）领投，Woven Capital 和 Ion Pacific 联合领投。Moove 目前仍深耕于人工驾驶网约车业务，在 14 个国家拥有并运营着一支由 4.2 万辆汽车组成的网约车车队。该公司在全球拥有 3,300 名员工，并继续为零工经济司机提供车辆融资服务。
Its expansion into autonomous vehicles started in early 2023 after evaluating the industry and its four main players in this nascent ecosystem: the AV developers, vehicle manufacturers, marketplaces like Uber, and the consumer. None of these players want to “own the metal,” Delano told TechCrunch, referring to the vehicles. “In this world, who owns the vehicle? Who operates the vehicle? Who orchestrates the vehicle? Who does the servicing, the maintenance? Who does the lost property? Who does the cleaning?” Delano asked.
其向自动驾驶汽车领域的扩张始于 2023 年初。在此之前，他们评估了该行业及其新兴生态系统中的四个主要参与者：自动驾驶技术开发商、汽车制造商、像 Uber 这样的市场平台以及消费者。Delano 在接受 TechCrunch 采访时表示，这些参与者都不想“拥有这些金属机器”（指车辆）。Delano 问道：“在这个世界里，谁拥有车辆？谁运营车辆？谁调度车辆？谁负责维修和保养？谁处理遗失物品？谁负责清洁？”
It became clear, he added, that Moove’s experience managing large fleets and providing financing could translate to autonomous vehicle operations. “Let’s create a product where we own, operate, and orchestrate autonomous vehicles, and let’s go and find partners to do it with — and that’s essentially what we did,” Delano said. “In 2023, we started talking to every single AV company you could imagine, and as you know — God would have it, luck would have it — we managed to partner with Waymo first.”
他补充说，显而易见，Moove 在管理大型车队和提供融资方面的经验可以转化为自动驾驶汽车的运营能力。“让我们创造一个产品，由我们自己拥有、运营和调度自动驾驶汽车，并寻找合作伙伴共同完成——这基本上就是我们所做的，”Delano 说。“2023 年，我们开始与你能想象到的每一家自动驾驶公司洽谈，正如你所知——天遂人愿，运气使然——我们最终率先与 Waymo 达成了合作。”
Moove is the fleet operator for Waymo in Phoenix, Miami, and Las Vegas, and in the future, London. The company doesn’t own the Waymo vehicles, but it plans to. Moove plans to use debt financing to purchase the robotaxis. Delano didn’t share a timeline for when Moove will start buying Waymo robotaxis. He did say Moove already owns robotaxi vehicles from another AV developer, although he wouldn’t disclose which company.
Moove 目前是 Waymo 在凤凰城、迈阿密和拉斯维加斯的车队运营商，未来还将扩展至伦敦。该公司目前尚未拥有 Waymo 的车辆，但计划在未来购入。Moove 计划通过债务融资来购买这些自动驾驶出租车。Delano 未透露 Moove 何时开始购买 Waymo 自动驾驶出租车的时间表。但他确实提到，Moove 已经拥有来自另一家自动驾驶开发商的自动驾驶出租车，不过他拒绝透露具体是哪家公司。
“Ultimately our vision is to own, you know hundreds of thousands of vehicles,” he said, referring to robotaxis. This latest funding will be used to scale the company’s autonomous vehicle fleet management business, including hiring about 350 people. (Delano said its traditional mobility business is set to achieve full profitability this year.)
“我们的最终愿景是拥有数十万辆汽车，”他在谈到自动驾驶出租车时说道。这笔最新融资将用于扩大公司的自动驾驶车队管理业务，包括招聘约 350 名员工。（Delano 表示，其传统出行业务有望在今年实现全面盈利。）
Some of the capital will also go toward developing automated depots that it calls “Nests.” These “nests” will be able to operate around the clock and use robotics to automate vehicle charging, maintenance, and servicing. Moove has about 15 depots that are in some stage of development. Delano wouldn’t say when its automated, “lights-out” depots would come online, noting that this is a future product.
部分资金还将用于开发被称为“巢穴”（Nests）的自动化车库。这些“巢穴”将能够全天候运行，并利用机器人技术实现车辆充电、维护和保养的自动化。Moove 目前约有 15 个处于不同开发阶段的车库。Delano 未透露这些自动化“熄灯”车库何时上线，并指出这属于未来的产品规划。
Other backers in the round include BlueCrest Capital Management, Sona Asset Management and The Raptor Group, BlackRock, MUFG, Franklin Templeton, Uber, Left Lane, Silverbacks Holdings, Square Associates, The Latest Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, and the Ontario Power Generation Pension Plan.
本轮融资的其他投资者包括 BlueCrest Capital Management、Sona Asset Management、The Raptor Group、贝莱德（BlackRock）、三菱日联金融集团（MUFG）、富兰克林邓普顿（Franklin Templeton）、Uber、Left Lane、Silverbacks Holdings、Square Associates、The Latest Ventures、Endeavor Catalyst 以及安大略省发电公司养老金计划（Ontario Power Generation Pension Plan）。