GoEuro Raises $45M To Be The Long Distance Uber

GoEuro, a European travel company that facilitates easy and fast bookings on public rail and road transport networks, announced a $45 million Series B investment round.

The latest round of investment was led by Goldman Sachs and supported by new investors, including Atomico, Yuri Milner and Tom Stafford, Sebastian Siemiatkowski (Klarna) and Ilkka Paananen (Supercell), according to a company statement.

“It will allow us to further accelerate our growth and continue to build the most comprehensive platform for rail, bus and air travel in Europe — making tens of thousands of destinations easily accessible for travelers from all over the globe,” said GoEuro CEO and Founder Naren Shaam.

Having led the investment round in GoEuro, Goldman Sachs has now positioned itself to tap into a new business model, which with its dependency on monetizing public transport infrastructure, sharply deviates from the Uber model. However, with its previous investment in Uber, Goldman Sachs has now positioned itself to benefit from both models.

“With over 50k train and coach stations across Europe, yet no online solution to search and book travel in a similar manner to what already exists within the airline industry, we see a tremendous opportunity to fill the void by building the leading multi-modal travel platform,” said Christopher Dawe, co-head of Goldman Sachs IP Private Investments.

The growth prospects for the two-year-old company reflect on the vastness of the European travel industry. Since its launch, the company has begun operating in 11 European countries and provides services to 400 million people, with access to a comprehensive network of 40 railway companies, more than 300 bus operations and all airlines.

The company estimates the European travel market to be worth about €150 billion, and now with its latest round of funding under its belt, the company plans to chase its goal to capture a bigger market share even faster. The company said it plans to use the funding for hiring top talent, customer acquisition and product development.