Kyte delivery drivers (aka “surfers”) employ a contact-free rental process and often use collapsible electric scooters to travel to their next pickup point.
Photo courtesy of Kyte.
Car rental startup Kyte has raised $9 million in funding from DN Capital and Amplo VC, the company reported on Tuesday.
Other investors participating in the round include Kayak and Travelocity co-founder Terry Jones, an early investor, Lime cofounder Toby Sun, and former Uber executives Jorg Heilig, Ed Baker, Josh Mohrer, and William Barnes.
“We’re using the money to invest heavily in technology and growth across North America,” cofounder Ludwig Schoenack told Auto Rental News. “We are always looking for new fleet owners of any size to partner with.”
Schoenack said that Kyte’s monthly revenue has grown 400% since March. Kyte intends to expand soon into Washington, D.C., he said. Kyte launched in 2018 in San Francisco, followed by Los Angeles. In October, Kyte launched in Boston.
San Francisco-based Kyte is an app-based rental system that delivers cars to clients. Kyte doesn’t own fleet, it partners with car rental companies and other fleet providers to put their inventory on the platform.
“The pandemic has accelerated the transformation of cities and consumer behavior with respect to transportation,” said DN Capital’s Steve Schlenker, cofounder and managing director of DN Capital. “Kyte’s unique operations layer facilitates this transformation while providing a level of service and convenience that other solutions fail to meet.”