Silvercar operates a streamlined airport car-rental service that rents only silver Audi vehicles and lets customers book and unlock cars through a mobile app and QR codes. The company has focused initially on airports, launching first in Dallas–Fort Worth and expanding to its twelfth market, Las Vegas. Silvercar reported that its business tripled in 2015. It is also working with Audi on an Audi Shared Fleet initiative to make cars available to employees on corporate campuses, signaling expansion beyond airport locations. The company has raised capital to support growth, having raised a total of $60 million including the newly announced round. Silvercar offers a premium airport rental experience that lets customers reserve and unlock cars via smartphone for faster pickup and return. Its core product is a streamlined, premium pickup and return flow aimed at reducing terminal-to-car time. The company said the $5 million in new equity financing will be used to commence operations in additional markets and to develop its offering for rapid expansion. In six months since launching at DFW, Silvercar has grown to serve four locations and plans to aggressively open more each quarter. Expansion to date has been focused in Texas, with availability in Houston, Austin and Dallas. Silvercar previously raised $11.5 million from Austin Ventures, SV Angel, Chris Dixon, Dave Morin and CrunchFund, and CEO Luke Schneider provided the company statement to TechCrunch. Silvercar is an Austin-based startup aiming to transform the airport car rental experience with a mobile-first service and a uniform fleet of silver 2013 Audi A4s. The company will launch officially this winter and plans to offer a smartphone app that lets users book in advance, manage vehicle settings, and unlock cars by scanning them. The app is designed to push itineraries and destinations to the car’s multimedia dashboard and to remove check-in lines by allowing reserved customers to go straight to their vehicles. For customers without reservations Silvercar will provide self-serve kiosks and on-site assistance, and CEO Luke Schneider says rental prices will be comparable to standard and full-sized cars from major rental companies. Schneider, formerly the CTO of Zipcar and with experience at Flexcar, is leading execution while the company finishes talks with airports. Silvercar has raised $11.5M in a Series A to build out its Audi fleet and finalize airport partnerships, though it has not yet announced specific locations.

Total raised

$45M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series C

Latest activity

Jan 2016