Congratulations to all the team at SPLT, which has just been acquired by Bosch. This deal represents the first exit by an InMotion Ventures portfolio company, after we invested in the US ride-sharing startup almost exactly one year ago.
Led by co-founders Anya Babbitt and Yale Zhang, Detroit-based SPLT was founded in 2015. Its carpooling algorithm connects people who share similar routes to and from work or study, allowing lifts to be dynamically and efficiently arranged. A graduate of TechStars, SPLT also works with Lyft (another InMotion Ventures portfolio company) to provide non-emergency medical transport in Michigan.
“Bosch represents a perfect partner for SPLT, and we’re excited to see what innovations they can deliver together,” says Sebastian Peck, Managing Director of InMotion Ventures. “We’ve enjoyed working with Yale, Anya and the team over the past year, and this is a deserved reward for all their hard work.
“It’s satisfying to have achieved the first exit by an InMotion Ventures portfolio company. Especially to a prestigious business like Bosch, which also works with our parent company Jaguar Land Rover.
“We look forward to more exciting additions to – and successful exits from – our portfolio over the next few years.”
140,000 people in the US, Mexico and Germany are already using SPLT, which saves commuters and employers time and money as well as helping to ease congestion and parking problems.
“With SPLT, we are extending our portfolio in the growth area of mobility services,” says Dr Markus Heyn of Bosch. “Increasingly, smartphones are becoming the most important means of travel.”
SPLT will remain an independent entity within the Bosch Group and be run as a wholly-owned subsidiary. The app is already used by Bosch employees in Mexico, with plans to extend it to the 60-plus countries the company operates in.
The acquisition was announced in Berlin at Bosch’s fifth annual Internet of Things conference, Bosch ConnectedWorld 2018. TechCrunch covered the deal, calling it a “smart move”.
