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Offering a “luxurious” alternative to Uber’s giant, Wheely will raise at least $ 30 million to facilitate international expansion. The new company is currently operating in three European markets: London, Paris and Moscow. But founder and CEO Anton Chirknov said it will seek additional funding for expansion to the United States next year.
Currently, it focuses on three major cities: New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and four Asia: Tokyo, Seoul, Osaka, and Shanghai. Initially, it has not yet decided which area to expand to, but the company’s head told CNBC that it would invest about $ 10 million for each new city expansion. “This year we are focusing on business development in Europe. There are some milestones we want to reach,” Chirknov said in an interview. “In reality, it’s time to expand another fundraiser and extend beyond Europe.”
London-based Willie claims an execution rate, which is used to measure the annual financial performance of $ 110 million in total reserves. While the group as a whole continues to lose, Chirknov said it has achieved profitability in Moscow. To date, the company has raised $ 28 million from investors.
What is Wheely?
Wheely started life in Zurich 10 years ago when Swiss Russian founder Chirkunov embarked on establishing a data collection application similar to Booking.com. The lack of a dissatisfied driver’s license in the taxi industry has ultimately changed. Wheely’s approach to developing a premium transportation platform that connects passengers and certified drivers. Currently, the service is available in London, Paris, and Moscow.
Chirknov said he had some bad experiences with taxis, but he has been particularly worried. For example, while living in Zurich, a taxi driver asked him to get out of the car because Chirknov was yawning. “When I yawned, I thought you were rude,” he said. “There must be a worse story.”
“These sorts of things basically triggered me to build what I wanted as a customer,” said Wheely’s CEO, adding that he is a daily user of his application. “I do not have a car. I do not drive. There is no special agreement with the company as a specific driver to drive me.”
Not cheap
Mr. Chirknov said he was not interested in the “mass market” of passenger transport, pointing to Uber and Lyft, among others. Instead, the company is targeting rich and rich users who want a more personalized travel. For example, he said that the driver could make a request in the application to pick flowers for loved ones.
As expected, traveling with the application is not cheap. Traveling from West London to Heathrow Airport with cheap Executive Class Service costs around £ 50 ($ 65), while First Class costs £ 75. All drivers arrive by Mercedes car. When Uber faces the potential to be blocked from Europe’s largest city, you will receive news of its plan to enable funding taps. Last year, London’s transportation regulators decided to strip licenses from US transportation giants to operate in the UK capital last year for security reasons. It may continue to work during the appeal process, but this move has given Uber rivals the opportunity to take advantage of London issues.