Masabi announced it has secured $2.8 million in funding from Detroit-based Fontinalis Partners, a strategic investment firm focused exclusively on next-generation mobility companies; London-based MMC Ventures and existing investor m8 Capital to accelerate U.S. transit agency deployments.
The company also today announced the opening of its New York office and the hiring of transit industry innovator Josh Robin as vice president of strategy and business development for North American operations.
“Masabi’s partnership-based approach to implementing agile fare collection means that transit agencies can have a revolutionary mobile ticketing system in months, not years, as we have shown with the MBTA in Boston. Because Masabi takes on the risk of delivering the new service on-time and on-budget, we only succeed when the agency succeeds,” said Ben Whitaker, CEO of Masabi.
William Clay Ford, Jr. (“Bill Ford”), a founding partner of Fontinalis Partners, added “Masabi’s technology allows transit agencies to revolutionize the customer experience at a fraction of the cost of traditional solutions. This capability aligns well with emerging trends and Masabi is well positioned to make a positive impact on mobility, both in the U.S. and abroad.”
Masabi’s JustRide product is a cloud-based, transit proven, rapidly deployable, end-to-end mobile ticketing and fare collection system with award winning mobile apps for ticket purchase, use, and ticket agent validation. The solution allows transit agencies to revolutionize riding transit by allowing customers to purchase tickets without needing to wait in line. Masabi’s technology also means that transit agencies can now launch mobile ticketing for a significantly lower capital investment than traditional fare collection systems.
Masabi already processes more than $50 million in ticket sales per year across its systems world-wide and continues to see strong growth. In November 2012, the company launched the U.S.’s first system-wide deployment of mobile ticketing for Boston’s MBTA. Unlike a traditional fare collection system which would have taken years of development and cost an estimated $70 million, Masabi was able to deploy its JustRide system in just seven months and at minimal cost to the MBTA. In the four months since launch, it has processed $3 million in transactions, accounting for more than 10 percent of ticket sales.
“The appetite for mobile ticketing among U.S. transit operators and riders has taken off in the last 12 months. Masabi’s successful launch in Boston, coupled with rapid customer adoption, positions the company well as other agencies begin procuring to replicate this success. We are delighted to welcome the backing of Fontinalis and MMC as Masabi continues to revolutionize the transit industry,” said Joseph Kim, general partner at m8 Capital and chairman of Masabi.
“Mobile is transforming the transit industry, saving agencies time and money while at the same time improving the everyday life of millions of passengers,” said Rory Stirling, investment director at MMC Ventures. “Masabi is the leader both in developing this mobile ticketing technology and bringing it to market, and we are proud to be supporting them in this period of rapid expansion.”
