The group transport and commuter specialist is pushing ahead with plans to expand its North American operations
Zeelo has raised $23m in Series B funding to accelerate its AI-powered transportation-as-a-service growth in the North American, UK and Irish marketplaces. The funding round was led by impact investor Blue Earth Capital, with participation from existing investors including Direttissima Growth Partners and Peter Bauer. The company says the new capital will be used to strengthen Zeelo’s profitable market leadership in the UK and Ireland, accelerate commercial growth in North America, enhance its proprietary routing software and AI-powered transport management platform, and pursue further strategic M&A following the successful acquisition of UK competitor Kura in 2024.
Zeelo provides daily commuter transport aimed at reducing employee turnover and cutting carbon emissions via a network of over 650 vetted third-party operator partners, and is used by employers including Amazon, Barclays, and UPS. The company says it has delivered over 175% year-on-year revenue growth in North America, alongside profitability in its core UK and Ireland market.
“Our mission is to empower opportunity through sustainable transportation,” said co-founder and CEO Sam Ryan. “With this new investment, we’re scaling our impact – delivering inclusive mobility programs that not only reduce CO˜ emissions and car dependency, but also connect people to work and education in areas not served by public transit. Our proprietary tech platform and AI-powered operations are driving incredible return on investment for customers, while our team continues to raise the bar for service quality. This capital gives us the resources to further integrate with industry partners, including operators, electric and autonomous vehicle providers, and to strengthen our market presence through focused go-to-market and acquisition strategies.”
In the past year, Zeelo reports that it has powered over 7 million journeys through its platform, reducing greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining a 98% global customer satisfaction rate, with 10% of trips in the UK completed with electric vehicles.
“Our Private Equity team is excited to partner with Zeelo on their mission to decarbonise and democratise access to transportation,” said Kayode Akinola, Head of Private Equity at Blue Earth Capital. “Zeelo’s ability to shift commuters from cars to shared bus trips and optimise routes delivers significant GHG reduction potential and supports our focus on efficiency gains, whilst its role in accelerating adoption of EVs in the shuttle market aligns well with our electrification theme, an important pillar towards decarbonisation.”
