SOSventures - commitment for $11.7 million ($5.6 million in Series A)
Competitors
No direct competitors. Generation 1.0 car sharing automation services are provided by most metropolitan planning organizations in the United States, such as "511 Rideshare" in San Francisco, while vanpooling services are provided by companies such as VPSI. Taxicab companies such as Yellow Cab and private and public transit companies such as New York's MTA provide options for some commuters. Most commuters rely on single occupancy vehicles (SOVs) to get to work.
Product Description
Avego is a gadget that goes in cars to make private cars part of the public transport network. Mixing sat-nav and internet technologes with the markets of taxis, carpooling and public transport, it enables an alternative to SOVs (single occupancy vehicles) just in time to avoid $4 per gallon gas (and the upcoming "peak oil" energy crisis), giving commuters a choice between driving alone or going with the flow. We call the concept "Shared Transport".
Market Opportunity
According to the AAA, Americans spend approximately 19% of their household income on transportation. 87% of these trips are via personal vehicle. Of this $2 Billion (per day) market, Mapflow feels that perhaps 20% are excellent candidates for Shared Transport.
DEMO Says
Our highways and streets are packed with unused capacity. Sounds paradoxical, yet every car that takes to the roads with an empty passenger seat is taking up too much room, drinking too much fuel, and spewing too much carbon into the air. Avego taps that excess capacity in a simple- to adopt ride-share program that turns private vehicle into a part of the public transportation network. It’s simple, safe, smart and clean.