Uber Partner Fair Raises $385M In Funding Led By SoftBank

Fair, the car leasing startup that earlier in 2018 acquired the leasing portfolio of Uber, has raised $385 million in venture funding.

According to a report in Venture Beat, citing the company, SoftBank led the Series B round of investing. Other investors that took part in the fundraising round include Exponential Ventures, insurance giant Munich Re’s ERGO Fund, G Squared and CreditEase. Citing a statement issued by Fair, Venture Beat reported funding will go to scale its consumer platform and its Uber partnership across the world.

Claiming to hold the keys to the future of car ownership, Fair has a mobile app and website that makes it easy to search for and purchase a car while staying within a predetermined budget. Through the app, users search for a car and sign the lease without the need to go to a car dealer.

“Fair provides a simple and affordable way for people to get access to a car for personal use, ridesharing, or car-sharing,” said Lydia Jett, senior investor at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “This investment will enable Fair to provide cars on a global scale, and help reduce the barriers to mobility.”

In January, Fair and Uber confirmed that Fair would be Uber’s car leasing business, with some reports pegging the size of the deal at around $400 million. Since the deal was reached, Fair and Uber have been working closely, with Fair now offering Uber drivers leasing plans that include maintenance and roadside assistance, noted the report.

Fair said it has provided cars to more than 20,000 people through 3,000 dealer partnerships in the U.S. since it went live in August of last year. It has raised more than $400 million this year, completing a fundraising round for $50 million in February, reported Venture Beat.

“We’re in the midst of a transformational shift as consumers choose access to services over ownership,” Fair CEO and Founder Scott Painter said in the report. “This financing signals that Fair will be a critical and enduring component of this transition in mobility as we replace the decades-old, debt-based system of car buying with a payments platform that’s simple, affordable and flexible.”