When Uber CEO Dara Khosroshahi outlined his vision of shared mobility, Vistara’s portfolio company Getaround was center stage. Uber and Getaround have been collaborating for over a year in anticipation of launching “Uber Rent”, a new service making available cars rather than rides on Uber’s app, all powered by Getaround’s leading connected car and sharing platform. The partnership started with Getaround enabling on-demand vehicles for individuals seeking to drive for Uber without owning or leasing their own car. That service will now be available to anyone who needs a car for a few hours to a few days – now directly through Uber’s app in addition to Getaround’s own popular app.
Uber Rent, powered by Getaround, will initially be launched in San Francisco, but the intent is to roll out the offering across the Uber network. Uber’s selection of Getaround to power its offering for many use cases beyond one-way trips is tremendous validation of Getaround’s technology and ability to execute. “Not all trips are well-serviced by Uber,” said Jahan Khanna, head of product for Uber’s mobility division. “Without this offering, our platform really can’t compete holistically with the value proposition of owning your own car. And we’re chipping away at that piece by piece, and this is an important aspect of that.”
The impact on mobility and car ownership models by bringing Getaround’s capabilities to Uber’s global customer base is significant. “What we heard loud and clear from our users when they start to use Getaround actively and they move away from car ownership, they still have to use things like public transit, biking, walking, as well as ride-sharing to get the complete experience,” said Sam Zaid, Co-Founder & CEO of Getaround. “I think that’s true on the Uber side as well… how do you give people a full suite of mobility solutions, recognizing that any one particular mode is insufficient to replace owning a car?”
Check out ABC’s Good Morning America cast demo Uber Rent powered by Getaround for their audience in this entertaining video. Getaround and its investors – Vistara Capital, top-tier funds including Menlo Ventures and Braemar Energy Ventures, and strategic partners such as Toyota – are excited about the partnership and can’t wait to use Uber Rent in major cities across North America and the world. Maybe one day we’ll even be able to try it here in Vancouver, Vistara’s HQ, sadly the largest North American city without Uber 🙁
