On Wednesday, Israeli infrastructure technology firm Optibus, which uses cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) analytics for public mass transportation planning, announced that it has raised $107 million in Series C funds. The round was co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners–the early-stage VC that has invested in more than 200 companies, and participated in the IPO exits of Yelp, Skype, LinkedIn, Shopify and others– and Insight Partners, the New York-based global private equity/venture capital fund that has backed more than 400 global companies with more than $30 billion in capital commitments.
The funds will help Optibus to roll out one of its most significant product offerings to date: the Geospatial Suite, which uses geospatial data to plan transportation networks more effectively and to support transit equity.
Additionally, Optibus will use its Series C capital round to scale globally and optimize its AI algorithms to further improve mass transit for passengers, while increasing operational efficiency. The funding will also go toward replacing traditional mass transit fleets based on fossil fuels with zero-emission vehicles, and lowering emissions worldwide.
Existing investors, including Verizon Ventures, Pitango, New Era Capital Partners, Dynamic Loop and Blue Red Partners also re-upped their commitments for the Series C round. The latest fundraise brings Optibus to $160 million in venture capital since its founding in 2014.
“Effective public transportation is a critical part of a well-functioning society, and with the rise of new mobility options and electric vehicles, paired with the added challenge of the pandemic, city operators face more complexity than ever,” said Alex Ferrara, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. “Optibus stands out as a modern cloud-based solution that cuts through this complexity, allowing transit operators to plan routes and optimize in minutes rather than days, promoting a more affordable and passenger-friendly experience. We are excited to partner with them as they build a global, world-class operating system for public transportation.”
Geospatial Suite
Optibus’s new product, Geospatial Suite, is designed to make urban transportation networks more passenger-friendly by visualizing aerial geographic information while planning routes. These might include bike paths that riders commonly use on the way to or from public transit, or the shopping districts, schools, health clinics or job centers where passengers may want to go.
The suite also helps promote to transit equity by making it easy to view demographic data showing how route changes could affect residents’ access to public transit. These capabilities facilitate data-driven decisions that significantly improve the accessibility, reliability and performance of networks that affect the lives of millions of passengers.
“The pandemic has made it more challenging for cities and transportation operators to provide safe and efficient public transportation, while also highlighting just how essential these services are,” said Optibus CEO and co-founder Amos Haggiag. “It’s now of critical importance that we modernize the public transit industry not only for the industry’s sake, but for the communities around the world that seek transit equity, freedom of movement for all residents, and environmentally sustainable cities. This funding will help us do just that.”
“The product strength and expansion of Optibus comes at a time when cities and transit operators need all the tools they can get to build back better in the aftermath of COVID-19, improving the quality of their public transportation networks while reducing operational costs,” said Teddie Wardi, Managing Director at Insight Partners. “We believe that the Optibus platform will become the gold standard for mass transportation planning and delivery globally, and we are thrilled to partner with them as they continue their ScaleUp journey.”
Founded in 2014, Optibus today is used by public transportation facilities in 450 cities around the world, including New York, Los Angeles, London, Melbourne, Brasilia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Customers include U.S. agencies LADOT (Los Angeles), NICE (Nassau County, New York) and AVTA (Antelope Valley, California), and two of the largest bus operators in the UK, First Group and Stagecoach.
Last month, Optibus announced a new partnership with ioki, the on-demand mobility company owned by German state railway Deutsche Bahn, on an integrated platform allowing cities, public transportation authorities and operators to integrate on-demand and fixed route options for public transportation. The platform, which will serve Northern Europe’s DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) will enable on-demand service to fill suburban and rural gaps in fixed route public transportation, and provide first-mile and last-mile solutions for passengers.
In June 2020, Optibus unveiled a new impact analysis tool designed to help cities “visualize” the impact of public transportation changes on the surrounding community. The tool will help U.S. transit providers to meet federal Title VI requirements to conduct service equity analyses for major service changes.
“Public transit isn’t just about vehicles, but about the cities and towns where transit provides an essential service for residents,” Optibus’s Haggiag said upon the release of the data tool. “By helping cities analyze the impact of their existing transit service and the service changes they need to make, especially as we begin easing out of lockdown, Optibus makes it easier for transit agencies and operators to incorporate impact analysis into their everyday planning and scheduling.”
