Israeli taxi app raises more than $80 million on $1.4 billion valuation

Israeli ride-hailing app Gett has raised more than $80 million in its most recent funding round, the company announced on Thursday, with a market valuation of around $1.4 billion.Gett – which operates most taxis across Israel, along with 120 cities worldwide – is aiming to compete with industry giants like Uber and Lyft in capturing a growing share of the ride-sharing market.Its biggest markets are Moscow, London and New York – where the company operates under its Juno brand and it has signed up some 45,000 yellow taxis, or more than half of all drivers in the city.More than half of the company’s business can be found in the latter two cities.The current funding round saw German automaker Volkswagen as a major investor, along with Access, Baring Vistok and MCI.The Gett app allows users to order taxis and rides on-demand or reserve a ride for later.With the rise of the sharing economy and further advances in autonomous driving, ride-hailing is likely to comprise an ever-greater share of transport. Ride-hailing apps now comprise a greater share of rides than taxis in many metropolitan areas.Gett’s announcement came as market rumors swirled on Thursday that the company is trying to raise $350m. – after failing to raise a larger sum – according to initial reports in financial daily Calcalist.CEO and co-founder Dave (Shahar) Waiser dismissed that figure in an interview with TechCrunch.In contrast to the $1.4b.-valued Gett, Uber has a market capitalization of $62b. – and the company has finally turned a profit in the first three months of 2018.Gett claims that in contrast to its competitors, it only allows the highest-rated drivers – those with 4.8 out of 5 stars and above – to drive.“At Gett we are on a mission – to build a transportation service loved for its quality,” Waiser said in a statement by the company.“Taking into consideration our tough selection criteria...we believe that nearly all the best drivers in NYC already ride with Juno. Gett and Juno are the service providers of choice for high standard passengers and businesses.”To date, Gett has raised more than $700m. in venture capital funding, including getting a $300m. from Volkswagen in 2016.Forbes has dubbed the company one of the “top 15 explosively growing companies.”The company was founded by Weiser and Roi More in 2009, with the company first operating a beta version in Tel Aviv some two years later.