AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Riders Share, an award-winning startup and the largest peer-to-peer motorcycle sharing platform in the world, announced today it has raised $2M in a Series A round of financing led by LiveOak Venture Partners of Austin, Texas. The capital in this round will be used for the acceleration of product development and to scale up customer service and marketing.
Riders Share is an online marketplace where people can rent motorcycles from other people. The company leverages machine learning to screen and vet riders before allowing them to rent on the platform. By getting rid of brick & mortar and managing insurance costs, it offers significantly lower prices than legacy rental shops, as well as a vastly larger vehicle selection and superior renter experience.
Launched in 2018 by Guillermo Cornejo, who gained industry and analytical experience while working with Nissan Motors, General Motors and Hyundai, Riders Share has now served over 10,000 unique customers and listed over 10,000 motorcycles for rent on its platform. Its ability to manage the risk associated with motorbikes was critical in enabling it to become the first motorcycle sharing platform. By using machine learning to underwrite each customer, Riders Share is able to mitigate the quantity and severity of accidents on the platform.
“We are grateful to have LiveOak Venture Partners as our lead investor. LiveOak has unrivaled subject matter expertise in online marketplaces,” said Guillermo Cornejo. “This partnership with LiveOak will underscore our position as the leader in the motorcycle sharing category. Our aim is to deliver higher quality experiences to our users while maintaining high growth in the breadth and scale of our platform.”
On the heels of the funding, Riders Share locked in a key hire with the addition of Jose Valera, former Moovel CEO, as Head of Operations. “I’m excited to work with Guillermo and the rest of the team at Riders Share. We all enjoy the thrill of motorcycles and are excited to work on something we love. Riders Share has the potential to do more than disrupt motorcycle rentals. We hope to bring innovation to the entirety of the motorcycle industry,” stated Valera.
David Stewart, Venture Partner at LiveOak Venture Partners, will be joining Riders Share’s Board of Directors as part of this financing. Stewart is an investor and advisor to many technology startups, and previously held executive roles in mobility and sharing economy companies.
“We’ve been blown away by the passion and tenacity of this team. Guillermo and the Riders Share team have managed to address the insurance risk problem while also bringing motorcycle owners and renters together all across the United States, and they did so with very little help,” stated Stewart. “We are confident we can help Riders Share scale and modernize the way people interact with motorcycles.”
About Riders Share
Riders Share, is the world’s largest peer-to-peer motorcycle marketplace platform, matching underutilized motorcycles with vetted riders that want to rent them. Riders Share leverages machine learning to vet riders, provides an insurance policy for owners and offers roadside assistance. With over 10,000 motorcycles listed, Riders Share also offers the largest variety of motorcycles available to rent in the world, all while providing a superior experience for renters and an extra source of income for owners.
About LiveOak Venture Partners
LiveOak Venture Partners is a venture capital fund based in Austin, Texas. With 20 years of successful venture investing in Texas, the founders of LiveOak have helped create nearly $2 billion of enterprise value. While almost all of LiveOak's investments begin at the Seed and Series A stages, LiveOak is a full life cycle investor focused on helping create category leading technology and technology-enabled service companies headquartered in Texas. LiveOak Venture Partners has been the lead investor in over 30 exciting high-growth Texas-based companies in the last seven years including ones such as CS Disco, Digital Pharmacist, OJO Labs, Opcity and TrustRadius.
