Mobile application start-up Get Taxi has launched its service in London this week, after several months of operations in Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan. The company will initiate the service with business customers.
In a separate development, Len Blavatnik has invested $9.5 million in Get Taxi together with its founders, including Shahar Smirin, a former executive at Comverse in Russia.
Get Taxi CEO David Glattman said that the company has enough money, but that the new investment would help it launch services in Paris and Moscow. He estimates the taxi reservations market at ₤500,000 a month
Get Taxi was founded in July 2010, and launched its application earlier this year. Get Taxi is a virtual taxi stand, where users can call a cab to his or her location. The smartphone's GPS locator identifies the caller's location, notifies Get Taxi's call center, which informs the caller of the taxi driver's name and estimated waiting time.
"Blavatnik is a dream investor," said Glattman, who previously worked for Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) and Comverse Technology Inc. (Pink Sheets: CMVT). "Shahar met him through previous investments (a $5 million investment in a leading Russian coupon company - R.G.) and persuaded him to invest. Blavatnik isn't a man seeking a quick return, but invests in something that he believes will make him money."
In Israel, Get Taxi initially launched its service for business customers, before gradually expanding it to individuals. The company is planning to expand its service to the rest of metropolitan Tel Aviv, and later to the rest of the country. The company has 50 employees, including 17 in Israel, and works with scores of taxi drivers, who pay a monthly fee for its service
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 20, 2011
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