Audi to lead $28 million Series C equity issue by car rental innovator Silvercar
- Largest equity issuance yet by Silvercar
- Funding will help Silvercar and Audi launch the new Audi shared fleet, a turnkey transportation solution on corporate campuses
- Investment extends the Audi connection with Silvercar, which bases its fleet exclusively on silver Audi vehicles
Audi is leading a new $28 million Series C equity issuance by Silvercar, the next-generation car rental company. The capital raise is the largest yet for Silvercar, which was founded in 2012 with a fleet consisting of silver Audi models.
The Series C announcement comes as Silvercar unveils its enhanced digital and mobile platforms designed for an optimized user experience and expands into Las Vegas, its 12th market, all of them in the U.S. Silvercar also received funding from Series B investors, including Austin Ventures and Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook.
The funding will enable Silvercar to accelerate its award winning airport car rental business and expand to new markets nationwide. Additionally, as part of the next phase of the Silvercar partnership with Audi, the companies will work in tandem to develop Audi Shared Fleet, a turnkey solution for businesses looking to provide accessible transportation to their employees on corporate campuses.
For Audi, the investment in Silvercar fits within its strategy to explore new and successful mobility business models as the nature of personal transportation continues to evolve worldwide.
“Silvercar represents not just the future of the car rental industry, but a vision for the future of mobility” Audi of America President Scott Keogh said. “We want to utilize the company’s strengths in technology and innovation to merge connectivity and mobility for today’s consumer.”
In addition to the immediate financial impact, Keogh will be joining the Silvercar Board of Directors. Keogh will join Ken DeAngelis, Austin Ventures, Samrat Ganguly, Velos Partners, Blair LaCorte, formerly of Texas Pacific Group, and Silvercar CEO Luke Schneider on the board.
“Audi’s confidence in Silvercar allows us to extend our reach even further, and bring forth the concept of shared mobility into many more markets, applications and product offerings,” said Silvercar CEO, Luke Schneider. “It is our goal to accelerate the expansion of our successful airport business in order to integrate these new mobility products into the market as soon as possible.”
The Silvercar Series C announcement punctuates a record 2015 for the company in which it saw its business triple. In the past six months alone, Silvercar opened in several key markets including Las Vegas, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago and New York City. Additionally, just last month, the World Travel Awards recognized Silvercar, whose customer satisfaction and loyalty scores remain the highest in the industry, as “North America’s Leading Car Rental Company.”