Daimler Reportedly to Add Stake in U.K.'s Hailo to Uber Rival MyTaxi

The car maker looks to strengthen the European operation of its taxi-hailing service.
By Mariko Iwasaki ,

German car maker Daimler (DDAIF) will boost its ride-hailing business Mytaxi through a strategic stake in the U.K.'s Hailo to strengthen its footprint in Europe, according to several reports.

Mytaxi, which is similar to Uber's ride-hailing app service, will take an unspecified slice of  VC-backed  Hailo, according to a report in Sky News, which was followed by other outlets. The terms of Daimler's investment was not reported.

Mytaxi was launched in 2009 by Hamburg-based start-up Intelligent Apps. At the beginning of 2012, Daimler took a stake in Intelligent Apps and in 2014 bought the whole of  Mytaxi. The app service provider connects the taxi driver and passenger with its booking app from the point of booking to the end of the journey and through payment. It has 10 million downloads and more than 45,000 participating taxis in more than 40 cities in 6 countries.

In 2014, a Daimler subsidiary also bought another car-hailing app RideScout as it sought to move beyond vehicle manufacturing.

Hailo was founded in 2011 and has thus far raised $100 million from investors including Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, Wellington Partners and Stomico Ventures. Its app services are available in more than 20 cities including London, Madrid, Barcelona, Osaka, and Ireland.

Loading ...