(MENAFN- Baystreet.ca) IAC (NASDAQ:IAC) announced Wednesday it will invest $250 million in Turo, a peer-to-peer car-sharing firm that is often referred to as the Airbnb for cars.
The New York-based IAC said Wednesday the investment would make it the largest shareholder in Turo, which calls San Francisco its home. The funding brings Turo's total equity raised to $470 million.
Said IAC Joey Levin, "Just as we've seen with travel, dating and home services, technology is accelerating a shift in the transportation space as the economics of car ownership change and the more-than-$60-billion global car rental market faces disruption and expansion with peer-to-peer car sharing services like Turo taking hold.'
Similar to home sharing services, Turo allows users to rent out their personal vehicle to other users and markets itself as a rental car alternative for consumers.
Levin continued, 'Turo has built the best product and proven out the model, and only just begun to penetrate the market. We're excited to back Andre and the winning team at Turo, and hopefully this investment is a good start."
Turo says it has grown steadily in the U.S. and internationally in the past two years, counting more than 10 million members and approximately 400,000 listed vehicles.
The company expects to use the fresh funding from IAC to kickstart additional growth and further 'refine the customer experience.'
Recently, IAC has deepened its investments in the transportation space. Last February, the company invested $15 million in on-demand car leasing platform Honcker and in 2017, IAC invested in trucking start-up Convoy.
Shares gained 59 cents to $231.98 early Wednesday
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