MOOVE, supported by Uber, a Fintech of African mobility that offers vehicle funding to app drivers to spend and deliveries in six continents, has acquired Kovi, a Brazilian urban mobility provider.
The value of the agreement is not in the dissemination phase, but Moove confirmed that it was an all-share transaction and Kovi is now entirely owned by Moove.
The co-founder and Co-Celai Delano di Moove declared to Techcrunch that the agreement increases the annual revenues of Fintech mobility to $ 275 million. Last March, Moove recorded an ARC of $ 115 million.
The news comes two months after Moove announced a partnership with Waymo to provide driver -free fleet operations in two United States cities, Phoenix and Miami.
Delano stated that the acquisition of Kovi by Moove based in São Paulo Kovi marks a significant step towards the goal of the company to build the world’s largest driver’s share fleet. What started with 76 cars in Lagos, Nigeria, in 2020 it has now grown up to 36,000 cars operating in 19 cities in six continents, with Latin America that now emerges as a key market.
In the same way, the acquisition combines two companies that face the same challenge, providing financing solutions for share drivers. Founded in 2018, Kovi supported by Y Combinator was launched to make the ownership of the vehicle more accessible in Brazil. Following the acquisition, pending the approval of the Brazilian antitrust authority, Kovi will continue to operate under his brand while his managers and management teams will remain unchanged.
While Moove will maintain the Kovi brand in operation in its existing markets, Brazil and Mexico, there are plans to further expand throughout Latin America. Moove recently launched operations in three cities throughout Colombia and Mexico. As such, the acquisition further gives up the position of MOOVE in Latin America, giving the company an important support point in Brazil, the largest market for travel of the region.
“We are incredibly excited to work with a fantastic team of related people in Kovi who created this business to face a similar problem that we found in Nigeria,” he observed. “Kovi is one of the first two players in Brazil. So we have not just inserted or strengthened our presence in the Latin American market, but we also put ourselves in a position in two main ones in the largest single market in Latin America through this acquisition. “
Moove built a third pillar in the global mobility market by offering a supply of vehicles to transport platforms. This includes its product for the peak drive-to-plan, a taxi and work model and a business line of autonomous vehicles (AV) emerging that involves the mobility driven by the AI.
While artificial intelligence plays a key role in its business AV line, Delano states that the company’s mobility strategy will cover the entire activity, from the optimization of traditional driving services to improve the management of the fleet, according to Delano. This is where the acquisition of Kovi comes into play. According to the CEO, the owner technology and the Kovi algorithms “will complete and strengthen our mobility strategy of the existing move and ensure that we can start providing a service and product improved to our customers all over the world.”
It is not clear whether Kovi was struggling financially before his acquisition by Moove. His latest known financing round was a series B from $ 104 million in 2021 by investors such as Valor Capital, Prosus Ventures and Quona Capital. Although he raised funds to be expanded throughout Latin America, Kovi has focused mainly on Brazil. That year, he recorded $ 45 million in Arr, growing by 15% month on month.
The All-Share transaction makes Kovi’s investors in Moove’s investors, aligning their growth trajectories. In a declaration, the CEO of Kovi Adhemar Milani Neto expressed confidence in the agreement. “I met the founders (Delano di Moove and Jide Odunsi) many years ago when they were reduced their activity in Africa, and I was immediately impressed by their approach based on the purpose, which is also a perfect correspondence for our culture. Together, I believe that we will become a truly global company to define the categories and will take advantage of the scale and the deep skills never seen in our market. “
Moove, who collected a Serie B led by Uber from $ 100 million last year to an evaluation of $ 750 million, financed over 50 million Uber travels globally, said. Fintech mobility has obtained over 500 million dollars in debt and capital from supporters such as Mubadala, Blackrock, Franklin Templeton, Janus Henderson and the IFC (World Bank) since its launch five years ago.
Delano refused to comment on potential new fundraising efforts. Instead, he stressed that the company will focus on guiding its heavy activity for profitability this year and creating its vision to build the largest racing fleet globally.
