*By Michael Teich* Car-sharing app Getaround is sitting on a new pile of cash after Japanese conglomerate SoftBank led a $300 million funding round, an infusion that Getaround founder and CEO Sam Zaid said will allow his company to expand beyond the borders of the U.S. The expertise of SoftBank ー which has made investments in Uber and Chinese ride-share company Didi Chuxing ー is crucial, Zaid said Wednesday in an interview on Cheddar. "SoftBank is a very seasoned mobility investor," Zaid said. "They had been looking at this space for some time. When we approached them and started discussing, we really felt there was a meeting of the minds around, you know, what the future of transportation looks like and where Getaround fits in that." Getaround's new funding, though, doesn't erase the harsh reality that the so-called "Airbnb of cars" faces: competition from the likes of ZipCar, Turo, and even General Motors subsidiary Maven. Zaid said his San Francisco-based company has an edge because users share their own cars. "We don't own the cars. It's really about driving efficiency and helping people offset the cost of ownership and moving away from everybody having to own a car," he said. But various aspects of the "sharing economy" have caught the attention of city regulators. The New York City Council recently passed a bill to restrict short-term property rental services like Airbnb. Uber and Lyft also found themselves in the cross-hairs of local lawmakers when the city council put a cap on the number of ride-sharing vehicles in the Big Apple. All that aside, Zaid is confident Getaround will avoid the pressure from regulators, largely because his company's interests align with local lawmakers. "Cities are very pro car-sharing. We reduce car ownership, so we reduce congestion, which is a big problem for cities," he said. Getaround's latest Series D funding brings the company's total capital raise to $400 million since its 2010 launch. For full interview [click here] (https://cheddar.com/videos/getaround-ceo-says-softbank-deal-to-fuel-global-expansion).

Share:
More In Business
Michigan Judge Sentences Walmart Shoplifters to Wash Parking Lot Cars
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
State Department Halts Plan to buy $400M of Armored Tesla Vehicles
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
Goodyear Blimp at 100: ‘Floating Piece of Americana’ Still Thriving
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
Is U.S. Restaurants’ Breakfast Boom Contributing to High Egg Prices?
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
Load More