BMW invests in carpooling app called Scoop
BMW has become the latest automaker to invest in a rideshare app, with the automaker’s investment arm, IVentures, investing an undisclosed amount into Scoop Technologies, which runs a carpooling app called Scoop. This news comes during a big week for automakers and ride-share apps, with Toyota recently investing into Uber, while Volkswagen invested $300m into Gett. Prior to this, General Motors, Ford, and Daimler have made similar investments. The Scoop app pairs users living in the same neighbourhoods and nearby workplaces to arrange carpools among them. Users can choose to be a driver, a rider, or either, and the cost of the trip is split by the riders with the driver. The Scoop app is currently functional only in a few cities in the US and is the second foray into ride-sharing from BMW, which already has a car-sharing service called ReachNow which is functional in Seattle.

The Scoop app automatically connects co-workers and neighbors who live in the same neighborhood and travel to the same work area. Commuters select each trip one way at a time and choose whether to ride or drive. Scoop’s algorithm matches them to a carpool with neighbors and co-workers for the most efficient commute.

BMW i Ventures announced a strategic investment in Scoop Technologies , Inc., creators of the carpooling mobile application “Scoop”. Since launching in August 2015, Scoop commuters have taken more than 40,000 trips, offsetting nearly 500,000 in commute mileage for riders. Originally launched in Pleasanton, CA, Scoop now also operates commute trips into San Francisco, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and North San Jose.

Scoop partners with major employers, office parks, and local governments to offer employees an affordable and effective transportation solution. The list of employers in the Scoop network includes some of the Bay Area’s largest companies such as Cisco, Microsoft, Salesforce, Workday, Airbnb, Tesla, and Sandisk. Scoop’s partners employ more than 200,000 commuters in the Bay Area.

Scoop’s carpooling offer is a great help for urban traffic and parking problems in cities, but it also enables employers in finding and supporting sustainable transportation solutions for their employees. Through this investment, BMW Mobility Services and Scoop together could offer a practical carpooling solution to a problem facing cities, starting here in the US. —Ulrich Quay, Head of BMW i Ventures

Scoop’s mission is to reduce the impact that traffic has on our lives. For most employees, driving to and from work is the most frustrating time of the day—it’s expensive, unproductive, and stressful. We’ve built an app that allows commuters to enjoy all the benefits of carpooling without the hassle. This financing will enable our team to bring Scoop to more commuters in our area and beyond. —Rob Sadow, CEO of Scoop

As a strategic investor, i Ventures aims to build strong partnerships with young start-ups with a high potential of making urban mobility smarter, more efficient and more flexible. Collaboration projects intend to create sustainable business value on both sides. Portfolio companies benefit from BMW i Ventures’ long-term experience, strong reach and the broad network of a well-established brand. Through its previous investments in the fields of e-mobility, navigation, parking, car sharing and intermodality, BMW i Ventures has already entered into strategic partnerships with innovative providers such as Zirx, Chargepoint, Life360, Moovit, JustPark, Chargemaster and Zendrive.