London-based Zeelo is a global transit-tech company powering bus operators, employers, and schools to provide highly efficient, sustainable, and affordable private bus and shuttle transport programs. Now, it has secured $14 million in the latest oversubscribed Series A extension round.
The investment came from venture capital firms, including FlatzHoffmann, the European growth equity investor; IREON Ventures, the venture capital arm of Motor Oil Hellas; and a prominent Boston-based family office. The round also saw participation from several angel investors.
Opens new headquarters in Boston
Zeelo plans to use the funds to accelerate and scale the team and operations and launch new technology products to serve US enterprise clients and operators for employee shuttle transportation needs for commutes across the East and West coasts. While the company already operates on three continents, it wants to accelerate expansion in the US, opening its second headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts.
“Developed markets are underserved for daily mass transportation needs and we have seen increased demand for our transit-tech solution in the United States over the past 12 months,” says Sam Ryan, Co-Founder and CEO at Zeelo. “Due to this demand, we’ve had a growing number of requests from shuttle operators to leverage our technology to improve their client relationships and streamline operations. This new capital will accelerate Zeelo’s expansion across the US for an accelerated rollout of large-scale, multi-site transportation contracts, with some of North America’s biggest household brands, as well as further investment in our software offering.”
“Our newly set up fund seeks to support technology companies with proven business models and a lasting environmental impact,” says Christopher Hoffmann, Partner at FlatzHoffmann. “We help them navigate the transition from Series A to growth and beyond. Zeelo is a unique and proven mobility player headquartered in Europe with a strong expansion push to the US. It combines a strong transit-tech platform with a clear sustainability mission. We are convinced of Zeelo’s experienced leadership team and its ability to innovate and execute. They have come very far in building their business, and we look forward to supporting their growth strategy for developed markets.”
Sustainable transportation solution
Zeelo was founded by serial mobility entrepreneurs Sam Ryan and Barney Williams in 2014. Headquartered in London, the company operates in the UK, USA and South Africa. The company addresses the evolving needs of B2B organisations, such as shift worker employers, office worker employers, schools, and universities.
It provides customised transportation services for daily commutes to suburban and peri-urban areas that lack sufficient mass transit coverage. In addition, Zeelo’s platform offers relevant insights to its clients to plan their headcount, production capabilities, and staff punctuality to save clients an average of 12 hours per week in administrative tasks, increase bus ridership by nearly 50% and enable an average of 43% in cost savings per year for employee shuttle transportation.
Also, Zeelo passes on CO2 emissions savings to its clients and has committed to transitioning all services to net-zero emissions battery-electric buses by 2030.
Already, almost 10% of Zeelo’s UK clients have already made the switch to electric buses for their commuter services. In 2022, the company has contributed to offset over 2,600 tons of CO2 emissions and created over 26,000 employment opportunities, with 70% of Zeelo riders admitting that they rely on the service to commute to work, and without which they would not have been able to accept their job.
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