Union Square leads $30.6m round for Hailo

Amy King
05 February 2013

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UK-based taxi network service Hailo has raised $30.6m from existing and new investors.

The round was led by Union Square Ventures and included Moscow-based Phenomen Ventures, Felicis Ventures and Red Swan Ventures, alongside the support of existing investors Accel Partners, Wellington Partners and Atomico Ventures.

The latest funding round, which also included Sir Richard Branson and Japanese telecommunications firm KDDI, brings total capital raised by the business to $50.6m. In April 2012, Accel led a $17m series-A round for the firm.

The fresh capital will facilitate the international expansion of the firm, with a particular focus on the US and Japan.

Company
Founded in 2010 and based in London, Hailo allows users to request and track a taxi, and select a payment method through a smartphone app. The firm provides a separate version of the app to taxi drivers, which puts them in direct communication with one another and provides a personal log book.

Hailo has operations in six countries and reports sales in excess of $100m. The firm has a global workforce of around 200 and tens of thousands of cab drivers registered.

People
Adam Valkin is a partner at Accel in London and joined the Hailo board alongside Silicon Valley-based partner Sameer Gandhi in 2012. John Buttrick is a partner at Union Square Ventures and joined the Hailo board following this latest transaction. Tom Barr, former head of coffee business at Starbucks, has been appointed president and COO of Hailo in the US.