Mercedes-Benz owner leads other investors to stake $175m in Taxify

Daimler AG, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, alongside other investors have invested $175 million in the cab-hailing platform, Taxify.

This investment raises Taxify’s value to $1 billion.

Taxify, a 2013 Estonian start-up, says it is looking to expand operations beyond the current 40 cities in Africa and Europe.

As a result of the investment, Damlier will join the board of Taxify.

“Among all of the carmakers, we saw Daimler as the most progressive in both ride-sharing and autonomous cars,” Markus Villig, Taxify’s founder, said.

In recent times, car manufacturers have been investing in cab-hailing platforms as a way of expanding investments in the transport sector.

Platforms like Taxify and Uber connect users with drivers from their smartphones and pay per ride instead of owning a car.

In November, Volvo signed a $1.4 billion deal with Uber to sell 24,000 sports utility vehicles to the platform for use in self-driving fleets.

“Taxify is an ideal addition to our existing and extensive mobility services portfolio. With its fast-growing ride-hailing activities and extensive geographical coverage, Taxify is a perfect fit with Daimler,” Jorg Lamparter, head of new services at Daimler, said.

Taxify recently introduced a security button on its driver app in Nigeria to check increasing reports of harassment between drivers and riders.