Car rental startup Kyte has raised $30 million that may help autonomously bring cars to people’s doorsteps, the company announced Oct. 6.
Founded in 2019 by alums from Uber, McKinsey and BMW, San Francisco-based Kyte offers rental cars delivered to customers on demand for as long as they need them. The company noted this bypasses the inconveniences of long in-person lines and paperwork associated with traditional car rental services, the inconsistencies of peer-to-peer car sharing services, and the inflexibility and long commitments of traditional car leases.
Kyte’s cars are currently delivered to customers by people. Using the Kyte mobile app or website, customers pick a specific time and location for their vehicle delivery and return. The company then dispatches a driver, known as a “Kyte Surfer,” to drop off a clean, sanitized car at the time requested. When the vehicle is ready to be returned, a Kyte Surfer retrieves the vehicle from the customer at the requested time and location. Customers can book a car for however long they want.
In the future, Kyte aims to achieve delivery either via teleoperators or autonomously.
“We envision a world where people living in cities don’t own cars and streets aren’t clogged with parked cars; space is used for a better purpose, and the freedom of personal mobility is enabled by Kyte,” Nikolaus Volk, co-founder of Kyte, said in a statement. “We’re building the infrastructure for an autonomous future where cars travel from fleet hubs to the people who need them, when and where they’re requested.”
Kyte currently operates cars in 10 cities — Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. Following a $9 million seed round in late 2020, Kyte has now raised $30 million in a series A funding round led by Park West Asset Management and Sterling Road. The company aims to devote the new funding to accelerate its national rollout and develop infrastructure for teleoperated car deliveries in major cities.
“Kyte is a magical experience compared to traditional car rentals; my family relies on it, and that’s what first made me so excited about this investment,” Ash Rust, managing partner of Sterling Road, said in a statement. “The Kyte team has a wealth of experience, which has been reflected in their incredible revenue growth over the last few years. We’re excited to support them now and long into the future.”
Other rental car agencies have long provided drop-off and pickup service. Major rental services are also investigating autonomous fleets, with Avis partnering with Google sibling Waymo in 2017 and Enterprise partnering with Voyage in 2018.
