Wingz, the airport ride-hailing service, received $11 million in a Series B funding on Monday. The funding was led by Expedia along with other investors: ltimeter Capital and Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com. Wingz also named Chris Brandon as CEO,
Wingz Inc was founded in 2011 by quartet Geoff Mathieux, Frederic Gomez, Jeremie Romand and Christof Baumbach to provide airport ride-hailing service. Wingz offers travellers to schedule private, fixed-price door-to-door airport rides in advance of their planned travel date. This eliminates all unexpected costs and unpredictability associated with on-demand transportation.
Technology wise, Wingz has linked its core technology platform to all airline flight schedule grid, providing users with a "schedule ride system." The system provides users with a suggested pickup time to match their flight details, and also matching the number of passengers and baggage with drivers whose cars have the right capacity.
On Monday, Expedia led the Series B funding and raised $11 million for Wingz. Alongside Expedia, Itimeter Capital and Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff also participated in the investment. This made a total $13.73 million dollar which Wingz has raised in four-rounds of investment. Wingz also to appointed Chris Brandon CEO of the company.
Chris Brandon has an extensive experience in strategic operations. According to Silicon Valley Business Journal, Brandon has a background in strategic business development, operations and financial management. He also has a strong track record of raising capital for fast-growing technology and travel companies in the business-to-consumer category. Prior to join Wingz, he was a CFO at Tier 3, Medio Systems and Yapta.
"We are thrilled that technology visionaries such as Marc Benioff, travel category leaders such as Expedia, and respected venture capital firm Altimeter Capital recognize what we believe is a huge market opportunity to reshape an airport transportation market that currently saddles travelers with unpredictable costs and hassles," Chris Brandon told Business Wire. "The efficiency of the Wingz system drives down costs and offers peace of mind for travelers, and generates more income for drivers than any other rideshare."
While Wingz Board Member and Expedia Vice President Nikki Krishnamurthy told The PE Hub Network, "Wingz offers a unique experience for getting to and from airports. We have found that travelers really want the security of scheduled rides. Expedia and Wingz share a common goal of delighting customers through a stress-free travel experience."
Wingz is serving customers in 18 airports in 8 cities in the United States. This series B of investment has strengthen the company structure, especially with Chris Brandon as CEO. The company is preparing its arsenal to face strong competition from Lyft and Uber which also targeting airport ride-hailing service.
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