Getaround


Getaround is an online car sharing or peer-to-peer carsharing service that allows drivers to rent cars from private car owners, and owners to rent out their cars for payment.
As of 2019, the company was reported to have five million users and approximately 20,000 connected cars worldwide.
Getaround launched to the public on May 24, 2011 at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference. The company operates in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco Bay Area, New Jersey, Portland, Seattle, Philadelphia, Miami, Atlanta, San Diego, Los Angeles, Denver, and Washington D.C.

History

Getaround was founded in 2009 by Sam Zaid, Jessica Scorpio, and Elliot Kroo. In May 2011, Getaround won the TechCrunch Disrupt New York competition. In 2012, Getaround began serving Portland, Oregon with the aid of a $1.725 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration.
In November 2016, Getaround reached an agreement with City CarShare to take over its fleet, parking spaces and member base.
In August 2018, Getaround raised $300 million in fundings from Softbank.
In April 2019, Getaround absorbed the carsharing platform Drivy for $300 million and rebranded as Getaround six months later.

Restructuring and layoffs

In January 2020, The Information reported the company plans to lay off approximately 150 staff members or about twenty-five percent of the workforce.