Luxe is in talks with a strategic investor that will infuse the company with “tens of millions” in new financing from Hertz, our sources tell us.
One source tells us that the round could be around $50 million at a pre-money valuation above $110 million. This source also suggested that existing investors may participate in this round. Our understanding is that the round is still getting finalized, and details could change.
The Information also reported that the funding round is coming from Hertz, and said the round is coming in at a more than $100 million pre-money valuation. This round, according to our sources, has been in the works for a while — as far back as last quarter, when it seemed that it would not be able to close a new round of financing. Our sources stressed that the deal hasn’t closed yet.
It would make sense that the deal would come from Hertz, which could lean on Luxe’s model in multiple markets in order to offer consumers a way to park rental cars on demand.
Luxe offers customers on-demand parking on both a subscription and one-off model for a fee. It’s available in markets like San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. The play here is that these cities are so congested that parking is a pain for drivers — to the point that they’ll be willing to pay for someone else to park their car. From what we understand, the subscription model is quickly becoming one of its largest growth-drivers, and the company may be putting more emphasis on that.
Luxe’s on-demand parking model has come under a lot of scrutiny, given the end of ZIRX’s consumer-facing parking service. However, we do hear from a source that the company is even profitable in San Francisco, which might be why the company was able to secure a new round of financing — even from a strategic investor like Hertz. Luxe has raised $25.5 million in financing prior to this round of funding.
A representative from Luxe said the company can’t comment on rumors or speculation.