Sorainen Estonia advised Taxify, an Estonian startup that competes with Uber across Europe and Africa, on closing USD 175 million in a new funding round that takes its valuation to the USD 1 billion mark. The round was led by German automotive giant Daimler. The investment also featured participation from new backers in the shape of Europe-based Korelya Capital and Taavet Hinrikus, founder of Estonian fintech startup Transferwise. China’s Didi Chuxing was among the returning investors to join.
“We’re on a mission to build the future of mobility, and it’s great to have the support of investors like Daimler and Didi,” said CEO and co-founder Markus Villig in a statement. “This is just the beginning as more and more people are giving up on car ownership and opting for on-demand transportation.”
Beyond its automotive business, Daimler has already taken a role in ride-hailing. Its investments in this area include the acquisition of car-sharing business car2Go and German car-pooling startup Flinc, while it has put money into Europe-based car-pooling company Via as well as Turo, another car-sharing service which took on Daimler’s rival service Croove. Now, added to that, Daimler will take a seat on the Taxify board.
The Sorainen team consisting of partner Toomas Prangli and senior associate Kai Vainola assisted the client throughout the transaction.