Daimler buys up Hailo and merges it with MyTaxi as Uber encroaches
Daimler has secured a merger between ride-hailing company Hailo and its service MyTaxi in a bid to embolden it against intrusion from a global leader in the industry, Uber.
MyTaxi
The joint entity, to be fully rebranded as MyTaxi in 2017, now boasts 70m passengers and 100,000 registered taxi drivers in over 50 cities across nine countries.
The auto brand looks to dig its heels in in Europe with Klaus Entenmann, chairman of Daimler financial services stating: "The joining of MyTaxi and Hailo is another strategic step in making us a leader of mobility solutions and platforms. This investment is in addition to the nearly €500m we’ve already invested in building mobility platforms and services over the last years. We are prepared to make further strategic investments as we continuously build our mobility eco-system.” said.
Niclaus Mewes, founder of MyTaxi, said: “Hailo and MyTaxi are both market leaders in the countries we operate. Together we are even stronger and we look forward to further innovative transport and mobility solutions as we provide compelling offers for both drivers and passengers.”
The industry continues to defragment as a result of mergers and big-time investments from Volkswagen investing in Gett, both Didi Chuxing and General Motors tapping into Lyft and of course Apple’s $1bn backing of Didi Chuxing.
Hailo largely based in the UK and Ireland, having been launched in 2011. It maintained a presence in 20 cities across the world and had, before the Daimler deal, raised over $100m and is currently backed by Union Square Ventures, Accel Partners, Wellington Partners, Atomico Ventures and Sir Richard Branson.
The deal is subject to approval from regulatory authorities.