SoCar operates a mobile app and website offering car- and ride-sharing services and is the largest car-sharing company in South Korea, with approximately 3,200 car rental zones, 11,000 vehicles, and 4.5 million registered users. The company says it will use the fresh funds to invest in research and development to improve mobility services through its platform. Last year it used Series C funds to acquire messenger app startup VCNC and to launch van-sharing service Tada. SoCar has expanded abroad, launching services in Malaysia with 120 zones and 240 cars. To date the company has raised $174.1 million across four rounds. The South Korean ride-hailing market shows growth potential, though the industry faces strong local opposition from taxi drivers. Socar operates a Zipcar-like car-sharing service in South Korea through a website and smartphone apps that let users book vehicles for short-term use. Founded in March 2012, the service reports over 300,000 registered users, about 40,000 monthly users, and roughly 60,000 transactions per month. The company is using new funding to grow its fleet from "thousands" to more than 5,000 cars and to invest in logistics and staffing. Socar is focused first on increasing its presence outside Seoul and across Korea before pursuing overseas expansion. Management has expressed interest in adding ride-sharing and on-demand taxi services in the future but has no definitive plan yet. Leadership says it aims to be dominant in Korea and hopes to expand across Asia in two to three years.

Total raised

$63M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Jan 2019