Israeli transport company Via has bought mapping and public transport planning solutions company Remix for $100 million in cash and shares. According to "The Wall Street Journal", the acquisition is intended to expand Via's share in a market that combines public transport and shared travel. This is Via's third acquisition in the past few months.
San Francisco-based Remix, which was founded in 2014, is a developer of software that uses data to help cities plan transport routes and to decide on such matters as where to put one-way streets, bicycle paths, and special lanes for emergency services. Among the investors in the company are Sequoia and Y Combinator. Remix works with over 350 cities in 22 countries.
In March last year, Via, which provides technological infrastructure for smart transport, raised an estimated $400 million at a valuation of $2.25 billion. The company was founded in 2012 by Daniel Ramot and Oren Shoval.
Via has developed a dynamic transport system operating according to the needs of the passengers that use its vehicles. It operates in 24 countries on varying business models. In some cities it provides only the technology, as in the case of the Bubble public transport on demand service in Tel Aviv, which is operated by Dan Bus Company and the Ministry of Transport. In other cities, the company has won tenders for operating fleets of buses. In yet others, it is a private player operating a smart network of minibuses independently.
