BlaBlaCar, Paris-based service that lets you hitch an intercity ride with travelers who are already taking a car, said today that it had raised $200 million.
Insight Venture Partners and Lead Edge Capital led the latest funding round.
The New York Times says that the funding round places a $1.4 billion valuation on the company, whereas Reuters said the valuation was $1.6 billion.
The Wall Street Journal says the number is $1.5 billion, but then says that Nicolas Brusson, the startup's chief operating officer, said the number was $1.4 billion when the round closed in July.
So take your pick.
A year ago the French startup raised $100 million in a Series C capital round led Index Ventures and other venture capital groups.
Earlier this year, BlaBlaCar bought its primary rival, Germany-based Carpooling.com, plus Hungary-based AutoHop. The new funding round puts pressure on relatively underfunded rival Liftshare.
The company will enter Brazil's market by the end of the year, it told the Wall Street Journal.
BlaBlaCar says it has up to 90% of the ride-share market in France, Germany, Spain, and Italy, with 20 million users across 18 markets.
Co-founded in 2006 as Covoiturage.fr by Frédéric Mazzella (CEO), Francis Nappez (CTO), and Brusson, BlaBlaCar has avoided regulatory nightmares ensnaring companies like Airbnb, the short-term rental giant, and Uber, the taxi-replacement service, because its drivers do not make a profit, and rates are capped to merely cover the price of fuel and (depending on the market) the 10 percent to 15 percent varying commission to the startup.
FROM JULY: BlaBlaCar axes Carpooling brand, three months after buying it