Daimler's MyTaxi buys Greek rival Taxibeat to take on Europe
Germany-based e-taxi company MyTaxi, part of the Daimler group, has acquired Greek rival Taxibeat for an undisclosed sum. The Athens-based operation includes around 500,000 riders and 8,000 drivers, as well as a branch operating in Peru. The Greek employees will be integrated into MyTaxi and rebranded, while the Peru interests will continue to function under a different management team and receive resources to expand. MyTaxi, which claims 10m downloads across 50 European cities, last year merged with UK e-taxi firm Hailo.

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MyTaxi, the Germany-based etaxi company, has snapped up Greek rival Taxibeat for an undisclosed amount.

Founded in 2009, MyTaxi is an Uber-like service that connects taxis with riders. It was acquired by automotive giant Daimler in 2014 and today claims 10 million downloads across 50 European cities, with 100,000 registered drivers on board. Last summer, MyTaxi merged with U.K. etaxi company Hailo.

Taxibeat was founded out of Athens in 2011 and today operates across Greece and, somewhat randomly, Peru. The company had raised around $7 million in VC funding.

With this acquisition, which was first rumored a few weeks back, MyTaxi has bolstered its own service by around 500,000 riders and 8,000 drivers. Greece is now MyTaxi’s tenth country. Taxibeat will be integrated into MyTaxi and rebranded “in the coming months,” according to a company statement.

“We are very impressed with the success of Taxibeat in Greece and we believe that Taxibeat is a perfect fit for MyTaxi,” said MyTaxi CEO Andrew Pinnington. “With the acquisition of Taxibeat, we are investing in the development and growth of urban mobility in Europe. The acquisition is another strategic step in making MyTaxi the biggest, best and most loved taxi provider in Europe — providing everyday magic to millions of Europeans.”

So where does this leave Taxibeat’s operations in Peru? Well, Taxibeat will continue to exist in Peru and will be given resources to expand across Latin America, with a “separate management team, tech stack, and brand” to that of MyTaxi, a spokesperson confirmed to VentureBeat. The Latin American operation will be run from its existing base in Greece, with all existing Taxibeat employees based in Greece continuing to work on the Taxibeat brand.

Though Uber has emerged as the de facto leader in the e-hailing space in many markets around the world, there are a number of other players — big and small — in local markets, including Gett, Ola, Didi Chuxing, Grab, Hailo, MyTaxi, and Taxibeat. Suffice it to say that the market is somewhat saturated, and with Uber’s might and brand recognition in Europe, including in Greece, it can be difficult for smaller players to gain traction. A degree of consolidation is to be expected.