London-based MMC Ventures has joined forces with Fontinalis Partners and existing backer m8 Capital to inject $2.8 million (£1.9 million) into Masabi.
Masabi, which is headquartered in London, has designed and built a transport mobile ticketing and agile fare collection product. Its JustRide system has been used in the US by Boston’s MBTA, where it signals the end of ticket lines, lost tickets and cash fares by allowing passengers to buy and display tickets on their mobile phones.
The $2.8 million investment round represents the third time that Masabi has netted venture capital funds. In September 2010, London-based m8 Capital invested $2 million into the firm and then followed it up in November 2011 by providing an additional $4 million.
To coincide with the deal, Masabi is opening its New York office and has also hired Josh Robin as VP of strategy and business development for North American operations.
According to statistics released by the business, Masabi processes $50 million in tickets sales per year across its systems.
As well as being employed by Boston’s MBTA, Masabi’s cloud-based technology is also being used by Virgin Trains, First Group, CrossCountry Trains and thetrainline.com
The company’s CEO, Ben Whitaker, comments, ‘Masabi’s partnership-based approach to implementing agile fare collection means that transport agencies can have a revolutionary mobile ticketing system in months, not years, as we have shown with the MBTA in Boston.
‘Because Masabi takes on the risk of delivering the new service on-time and on-budget, we only succeed when the agency succeeds.’
New backer MMC Ventures is a technology-focused investment firm, particularly in financial and business services, business software, digital media and e-commerce. Its active portfolio includes digital rights management company Base79, holiday letting service LoveHomeSwap and ventilation specialist Breathing Buildings.
Rory Stirling, investment director at MMC Ventures, adds, ‘Mobile is transforming the transport industry, saving agencies time and money while at the same time improving the everyday life of millions of passengers.
‘Masabi is the leader both in developing this mobile ticketing technology and bringing it to market, and we are proud to be supporting them in this period of rapid expansion.’
