Moove Acquires Kovi to Expand Rideshare Operations in Latin America

Rideshare fleet operator Moove plans to expand its footprint in Latin America by acquiring Brazil-based urban mobility provider Kovi.

The acquisition, which is subject to customary closing conditions, will add Kovi’s fleets in Brazil and Mexico and its proprietary IoT software and driver behavior algorithm to Moove’s fleet and technologies that power mobility platforms, the companies said in a Wednesday (Jan. 29) press release.

It will also expand Moove’s global fleet to 36,000 vehicles and its global presence to 19 cities on six continents, according to the release.

“Kovi’s proprietary IoT software and advanced driver behavior models complement our existing capabilities, supporting our focus on safety, efficiency and innovation in AI mobility,” Moove Co-founder and Co-CEO Ladi Delano said in the release.

Kovi CEO Adhemar Milani Neto said in the release: “Together, I believe we will become a truly global category-defining business and will leverage scale and deep expertise never seen in our market. We are also excited to continue our expansion across Latam now with robustness with such strong partners.”

Moove raised $76 million in new funding in August 2023, saying it would use the funding to “double down” on its already profitable markets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, the United Kingdom and South Africa; continue to invest in its customer experience; and accelerate its product development.

Faris Sohail Al Mazrui, head of ventures and growth at Mubadala Investment Company, which led the funding round, said at the time in a press release: “Moove has built a highly scalable tech-enabled platform to serve mobility entrepreneurs globally by providing them access to credit and other financial services previously unavailable to them.”

In December, Moove and autonomous driving technology firm Waymo formed a partnership in which Moove will manage and dispatch Waymo’s fully autonomous fleet, beginning with operations in Phoenix in 2025 and expanding to Miami in 2026.

“We understand that mobility isn’t a ‘one size fits all,’” Delano said in a Dec. 5 press release. “While we’re expanding into [autonomous vehicles] in the U.S., we remain deeply committed to serving our customers around the world where we will continue to provide our unique financing solutions to underserved mobility entrepreneurs.”