Wheelz is a campus-focused peer-to-peer car-sharing platform that connects students via Facebook integration, mobile apps, and an in-car hardware system called DriveBox. After owners install the free DriveBox and list their cars, renters unlock vehicles with an iPhone app or Wheelz card, and owners set hourly, daily, and weekly prices. The company provides a Key Box for unattended key exchange, a gas card for renters, free 24/7 customer support, roadside assistance, and a million-dollar insurance policy that does not affect owners' personal insurance. Wheelz launched at Stanford and expanded to UC Berkeley, USC and UCLA. Financially, Wheelz has raised a $13.7M Series A led by Zipcar plus a prior $2M seed, bringing total funding to just under $16M. Board changes tied to the financing include Fontinalis partner Mark Schulz joining Zipcar CEO Scott Griffith on the company’s board, and former EY vice-chair Jim Freer also joining. The company is positioning to capitalize on rising campus demand for P2P car-sharing amid competition from RelayRides and GetAround. Wheelz is a campus-focused P2P car-sharing service that launched initially at Stanford University. The product combines Facebook integration and an iPhone app with proprietary in-car hardware called DriveBox to enable remote unlocking and access. Wheelz installs the DriveBox for free and supplies a secure Key Box with a gas card; owners set hourly, daily, or weekly prices and owners' gas costs are deducted from monthly earnings. Renters are covered by the company’s million-dollar insurance policy for the duration of a rental, and the platform offers 24/7 customer support and roadside assistance. The service offers a wide range of vehicle types and emphasizes trust via social integration. The founding team includes CEO Jeff Miller (ex-Better Place) and CTO Akhtar Jameel (former Mercedes‑Benz R&D lead), who bring automotive and connected-car expertise.

Total raised

$16M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Feb 2012