Karos Mobility investment from Ring Capital & Citizen Capital

Europe's Leading Ride-Sharing Company Secures €17 million in Funding, Headed by Impact Funds Ring Capital and Citizen Capital

Growth capital 2023, November

E-commerce & retail

"We are delighted and proud to welcome Ring and Citizen to the capital of Karos Mobility. Since its inception, Karos Mobility has been able to prevent 12,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions and generated 46 million euros in purchasing power for our commuters. This major investment, made by two leading impact funds, confirms the societal mission of car sharing, a vector of ecological transition and social inclusion."

Olivier Binet and Tristan Croiset, co-founders of the Karos Mobility group

Karos Mobility, a pioneer in daily car-sharing, is raising funds to accelerate its decarbonization efforts in France and strengthen its international expansion. In the face of high inflation and the climate emergency, the daily car-sharing market is experiencing strong growth. Karos intends to leverage this fundraising to solidify its leadership on the market, and following successful launches in Denmark, Germany and Spain, Karos will continue to further export the French car-sharing model to other countries, aiming to become a European champion.

This round has been led by Ring Capital and Citizen Capital, two impact funds committed to supporting business projects that are fully focused on ecological transition and social inclusion. Three major historical investors (Aster, Eiffel and MACIF Innovation) are reinvesting alongside them. With the objective to become a "mission-led company”, Karos Mobility has been making significant shifts in terms of governance and organization to help fully enhance the social and environmental impact that lies at the heart of its business.

Daily carpooling has expanded rapidly throughout 2023, with 2.5 times more trips made on the Karos mobile application since the start of the year compared to the same period in 2022. With over 10 million carpooling journeys, Karos has made carpooling an effective and suitable solution for everyday journeys (averaging 20km). This provides local authorities and businesses with a shared transport solution in suburban and rural areas. Car-sharing is now regarded as a real means of public transport that complements other public transport networks, as well as essential for achieving carbon neutrality objectives.

Over the last 12 months, Karos has asserted its leadership and expertise with over 400 clients. Companies are optimizing the daily mobility of their employees (such as La Poste, EDF, Michelin, …), and local authorities are decarbonizing mobility within their territories (Lyon, Toulouse, Île-de-France, Réunion, Grenoble, Lorient, …). Now profitable, Kairos aims to change its scale and make car-sharing the norm for the 20 million French people who drive to work every day due to a lack of public transport solutions.

The technological and methodological platform developed by Karos Mobility can now be internationalized "by design" and a dedicated team is working on deployment projects in new countries, via its own development or acquisitions.

This investment will enable Karos Mobility to scale up, therefore increasing its social and environmental impact. With the support of its new investors, Karos Mobility has embarked on a major project aimed at changing its statutes, governance, and organization in order to become a "mission-led company";.The company's aim is now statutory, with social and environmental objectives at the heart of its management. A mission committee has been established,and regular audits are being carried out by an independent third-party organization.