Index Ventures leads $100m series-C for BlaBlaCar

The capital will enable the BlaBlaCar to expand into new territories, with the ultimate aim of creating a global network.

Existing investors, including Accel Partners, Isai and Lead Edge Capital, also took part in the round.

The deal is the latest in a flurry of investments in the car-sharing market: Mangrove Capital Partners invested in a $10m series-A round for Berlin-based CiteeCar in April; later that month, High-Tech Gründerfonds took part in a seed round for another Berlin-based start-up, CarJump; and Index Ventures contributed to a €6m round for Paris-based peer-to-peer car rental service Drivy alongside Alven Capital in May.

Earlier this year, BlaBlaCar acquired Ukraine-based Podorozhniki as part of its launch plans for Ukraine and Russia.

Previous funding
Isai and Cabiedes & Partners invested €1.25m in BlaBlaCar in June 2010, with Isai providing the majority of the equity. Isai's capital was the maiden investment to be made from its first fund, the €65m Isai Developpement vehicle.

Accel Partners then led a $10m series-B round for the company in January 2012, with participation from Isai and Cabiedes.

Company
Founded 2006 as Covoiturage.fr, BlaBlaCar is a long-distance journey-sharing company headquartered in Paris with operations in 12 countries across Europe, Ukraine and Russia. The company allows its 8 million users to share the cost of long-distance car journeys by matching drivers with spare seats to people making the same journey.

BlaBlaCar stated its users share more than 1 million journeys each month, representing year-on-year growth of more than 200%. It added that its passengers' journeys are three times more affordable than other alternative forms of long-distance travel.

The company was originally conceived as a result of the air travel chaos caused by the eruption of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull in April 2010.

People
Jean-David Chamboredon is CEO of Isai and has a seat on the board at BlaBlaCar. The company's management team is led by CEO Frédéric Mazzella, CTO Francis Nappez and COO Nicolas Brusson. Dominique Vidal, a partner at Index, will be taking a seat on the BlaBlaCar board.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Expansion
• France
• Consumer
• France
• Index Ventures