Taxify is a ride-hailing platform founded in Estonia in 2013 by Markus and Martin Villig. The company operates in more than 25 countries, predominantly across Europe and Africa, and has also forayed into Australia. Taxify reported over 500,000 drivers and more than 10 million users, and its ride volumes grew ten-fold last year. Its strategy is to be a second mover—entering proven markets with lower commissions and giving more back to riders and drivers while avoiding costly regulatory battles. The company plans to deploy new capital to develop its technology and fund further expansion in Europe and Africa. Taxify positions itself as a cost-competitive alternative to incumbent ride-hailers like Uber. Taxify operates an Uber-like ride-hailing platform offering private cars and licensed taxis across 18 countries, primarily in Europe and Africa. The company is headquartered in Estonia and was founded by former Skype employees. Taxify claims about 2.5 million users and says it is second to Uber in its regions. It has raised a relatively modest €2 million (~$2.4M) to date. The company is planning an expansion to London later this year. The platform’s core focus is on growing its presence in emerging markets while developing smarter products for riders and drivers. Taxify provides iOS, Android and mobile web apps that let users order taxis, choose by arrival time, price, car model and ratings, and track vehicles on a live map. The company positions itself as a technology platform and marketing channel for licensed taxi firms and individual drivers to compete with services like Uber. It is active in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland and says it is eyeing four more countries, including the Netherlands. Taxify intends to consolidate what it claims is a leading position in Eastern Europe and use technology to help traditional taxi operators win additional orders. The startup recently raised new funding to support further European expansion. Financially, the company has added an incremental capital injection to prior seed funding to fund growth plans. Taxify provides an all-in-one platform for existing taxi companies, including a web-based dispatcher and fleet-management systems, and presents multiple cab businesses in a single consumer app. The app lets riders choose specific drivers with profiles that show photos, prices and feedback. Taxify charges cab companies €12–15 per driver per month (individual drivers are charged per client) and focuses on serving SMEs. The service launched last fall and currently operates in Estonia and Latvia across three cities. Since launch it has handled over 150,000 bookings in total, roughly 50,000 monthly bookings, about 40,000 downloads in six months and around 15,000 monthly active users, growing at about 55% monthly. The platform works with nine active taxi companies and 950 drivers, with five additional companies on trial, and uses a franchise-style local partner programme that grants city managers a revenue share to aid expansion. Taxify plans near-term expansion in Eastern Europe and intends to enter Lithuania, Sweden, Finland and Georgia in the next four months, with additional Western Europe and Asia launches in preparation.

Total raised

$177M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

May 2018