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On-demand coach travel startup Zeelo scores £1.2m

Zeelo

Zeelo, a London-based startup which leverages AI to predict demand for coach travel, has raised £1.2m.

Founded by university friends who sold their previous startup to Addison Lee in 2014, Zeelo is backed by lead investor Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion Ventures and also received the support of TFL board member Michael Leibreich and Yo! Sushi co-founder Simon Woodroffe.

“People want new, more convenient ways to travel between cities, to events and to work,” said Barney Williams, one of the co-founders.

“Zeelo’s whole model is built around the needs of the customer: using data to understand their painful journeys. We’ve made a good start with major events, but now it’s about giving more people access to the Zeelo experience and replicating our technology across different markets.”

The startup says it has carried more than 20,000 people since launch, having focused on serving large events.

Zeelo is now planning to roll out its technology across different markets in the UK and Europe.

“Now it’s about scaling up fast and showing exactly what Zeelo technology can do,” said Sam Ryan, also a co-founder, adding: “Our platform allows specific communities to book seats on our data driven routes, whilst we’ll also cater for groups who want to go from A to B in a cost effective and hassle free manner. We need to remodel an £1.8bn industry that’s remained unchanged for far too long.”

Sebastian Peck, managing director of InMotion Ventures, praised the founders’ vision: “An innovative concept, a talented team and a quickly growing business: Zeelo has everything we look for in a portfolio company. We’re excited to continue working with them on building a best-in-class mobility service.”

Zeelo closed a $450,000 pre-Seed earlier this year.

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