FlightCar, the peer-to-peer airport car sharing business, says it has received $13.5 million of capital in a Series A raise.
The round was led by GGV Capital. Existing investors also participating are General Catalyst, SoftBank Capital, and First Round Capital. A new investor is Comcast Ventures.
The company says it will use the money to expand to other airport lots.
Since launching in spring 2013 in San Francisco, FlightCar has experienced rapid growth at two other locations and over 30,000 members.
FlightCar first opened for business in spring 2013. It was founded by Ivy League dropouts Rujul Zaparde (age 19) and Kevin Petrovic (age 20), who now say they are the youngest entrepreneurs ever to have raised $20 million in total venture capital.
Hans Tung, managing partner at GGV, will be joining FlightCar’s board. He said in a statement:
“Rujul and Kevin are incredibly smart and articulate, and have built up an impressive senior management team with solid prior stints at Federal Express, Starwood, La Quinta Hotels, and Accenture.
The company’s focus on customer experience and superior business model set them apart to lead this $26 billion market.”
The system is a bit complex: Users register their cars online. While they're traveling, their car is rented out to other travelers. It’s insured, and gets a car wash before you return. The vehicle owner also get a cut of the money — about $10 to $20 a day — if the car is rented.
As we head to an age of driverless cars, the peer-to-peer car-sharing economy may only expand further.