The Agnelli family owned Exor put in half of that amount.

Dial-a-shared-shuttle startup Via raised $400 million in a Series E funding round led by Exor (BIT: EXO) at a valuation of $2.25 billion. Exor is a holding company of the billionaire Italian Agnelli family. It owns chunks of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (BIT: FCA) and Ferrari NV (BIT: RACE). Exor coughed up half, or $200 million, of the total funding round. (TechCrunch)

Noam Ohana will now represent Exor on Via’s board.

Existing investors who participated in the funding were 83North, Broadscale Group, Ervington Investments, Hearst Ventures,  Planven Ventures, Pitango and RiverPark Ventures.

New investors included  Macquarie Capital (ASX: MQG),  Mori Building and Shell (AMS: RDSA).

Funding achieved in the face of the coronavirus

According to Bloomberg, it is creditable that the cash infusion came even though the Italian economy is reeling from the coronavirus. Exor’s stock has crashed 40% from its February highs and Via itself is struggling from the impact of the virus.

There was a severe drop in demand for the company’s shared shuttle rides following social distancing. It, therefore, suspended them in the interest of passengers’ safety. The shuttles are now used as single passenger vans, services for medical and nursing staff, even food delivery.

The pandemic may even hasten the transition of Via from a transportation company to a software provider.

Several transit agencies across the globe use the company’s software. The underlying software platform is the core of the company’s business.

Via’s software business was shaping up very well before the pandemic

The turning point for Via’s technology business (dubbed the “partnership side” by the company) came when it signed on Austin in late 2017. That city acted as a springboard for Via, and other cities soon latched on to its software platform.

According to co-founder and CEO Daniel Ramot, Via was signing on as many as 2 to 3 cities per week before the pandemic struck. As of date, over 100 partners use Via’s platform.

“The size of the market for an on-demand dynamic shuttle service is large and underappreciated,” said Noam Ohana. “When we look at public transit today, there is a significant opportunity for Via, which already has impressive experience working with municipal and public transit partners across the globe.”

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