Ground transportation web service Blacklane has secured a record Series C investment round, once again coming from car manufacturer Daimler.
The exact amount is said to be a “two-digit million Euro” figure and the largest yet going into the Germany-based company.
Previous rounds came in 2013 when Daimler led a Series B investment in the region of $19 million.
The same round was topped-up with a “mid-seven digit” round from RGIP in November 2014.
The latest investment also featured participation from existing investors, Alstin, B-to-V Partners and RI.
Blacklane says the Series C will be used to ramp up its international ambitions, in particular in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East region.
It currently operates in more than 200 cities and 400 airports round the world.
The rest of the money will be used to increase the company’s headcount, develop the core tech product and create additional services, such as a new vehicle class (products so far cover business vans/SUV, first class and business class).
Four-year-old Blacklane says it hopes to integrate with other distribution partners elsewhere in the industry, adding to its existing Amadeus, Tripcase, Expedia, Lufthansa, Booking.com and Viator deals.
CEO and co-founder Jens Wohltorf says:
“In the past, professional driver services were expensive, inconsistent and difficult to book.
“But Blacklane has made them affordable, accessible, and reliable worldwide, while upholding the industry’s safety and quality standards.With the additional strategic and financial support in place, we will bring even more innovation to our global passengers and drivers in the months and years ahead.”
“With the additional strategic and financial support in place, we will bring even more innovation to our global passengers and drivers in the months and years ahead.”
The company has a 60% stake in Europe’s biggest taxi app business after MyTaxi merged with Hailo.
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